Data for Black Lives

Data for Black Lives

Nickname	D4BL
Formation	November 2017
Founder	Yeshimabeit Milner, Lucas Mason-Brown
Headquarters	U.S.A
Website	d4bl.org
Formerly called	Data 4 Black Lives

Data for Black Lives (D4BL) is an American non-profit organization with the mission of using data science to create concrete and measurable change in the lives of black people. ^{[1] [2]} Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Data for Black Lives was founded by Yeshimabeit Milner and Lucas Mason-Brown. ^{[3] [4] [5] [1]} Milner attended Brown University; having encountered discrimination towards the black community, she organized a group of scientists to combat the mistreatment of black people within data algorithms. ^{[1] [6]}

History

D4BL began in November 2017 as statistical research project, and expanded into working with a team of people on data analysis. The formation of D4BL was initiated by Yeshimabeit Milner, who witnessed racial discrimination, watching her peers suffer from police brutality. ^[7]  Milner discovered through research that black children were getting suspended at a much higher rate than white children. ^[8]  After graduating from Brown University, Milner incorporated her passion for data science into social activism. ^[8]

D4BL has regional organization chapters, including a group in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. ^[9] Additionally there is a community of other organizations working towards the same goals, including Data and Society, Algorithmic Justice League, and the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR). ^[10]

Between 2019 and 2021, D4BL was awarded a grant by the MacArthur Foundation for broad operating support. ^{[11] [12]}

See also

• Algorithmic Justice League
• Black in AI

References

1. Rosenfeld, Maia (February 21, 2019). "University event highlights complexities of data power". The Brown Daily Herald. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
2. "What Can Local Government Do to Avoid Inequitable Tech?". Governing. 2021-12-05. Archived from the original on 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
3. "Data For Black Lives, Inc". Open990. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
4. Roose, Kevin (2020-12-30). "The 2020 Good Tech Awards". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
5. "Predictive policing algorithms are racist. They need to be dismantled". MIT Technology Review. Archived from the original on 2021-12-20. Retrieved 2021-12-21.
6. "Yeshimabeit Milner | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker". www.ashoka.org. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
7. Cocco, Federica; Smith, Alan (July 22, 2020). "Race and America: Why Data Matters" . Financial Times. The Financial Times Limited. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
8. "Yeshimabeit Milner (2021) | JFK Library". John F. Kennedy New Frontier Awards Recipients. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives. Archived from the original on 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
9. "CMU grad student launches data platform to 'dig deeper' into why systems are failing Black residents in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
10. Tiku, Nitasha (December 2, 2021). "Google fired its star AI researcher one year ago. Now she's launching her own institute". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2021-12-02. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
11. Gunther, Marc (August 25, 2020). "'Fund Us Like You Want Us to Win': Foundations are putting unprecedented billions into racial equity, but some grant makers worry that too little is going to grassroots movements". Philanthropy.com. Archived from the original on 2021-12-27. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
12. "Data for Black Lives". MacArthur Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2021-11-17.