What is Racial Literacy?

Racial literacy is a new method for addressing the racially disparate impacts of technology.

It is a skill that can be developed, a capacity that can be expanded. To advance racial literacy in tech requires three foundations:

• An intellectual understanding of how structural racism operates in algorithms, social media platforms, and technologies not yet developed;
• An emotional intelligence concerning how to resolve racially stressful situations within organizations; and
• A commitment to take action to reduce harms to communities of color.

 

 

The real goal of building capacity for racial literacy in tech is to imagine a different world, one where we can break free from old patterns. This will require real leadership to take this criticism seriously and a willingness to assess the role that tech products, company culture, and supply chain practices may have in perpetuating structural racism.