are-googles-search-algorithms-racist-mit-researcher-thinks-so
16
google

Are Google’s Search Algorithms Racist? MIT Researcher Thinks So

Latanya Sweeney seems to think she’s cracked an interesting facet of Google’s search algorithms. Sweeney, a MIT researcher, discovered that searching for ”black sounding” names are  up to 25 percent more likely to be served with an arrest-related ad.  “There is discrimination in delivery of these ads,” she concludes. From The Physics arXiv Blog: Sweeney’s interest is in the ads that appear…

XOJane
56
race

How Not To Be a Dick To Your Black Friend

GRRRRRR…. Old black wise black lady voice: “Only trouble SistaTV’s World is White Folks…” Why do I even have to fucking write this? Oh yeah, because frankly, white people — Can I call you white people? We’re all post racial friends here aren’t we? — sometimes you’re dicks to your black friend. Some of you…

gay-isnt-the-new-black
74
John McWhorter

Gay Isn’t The New Black

I remember watching a gay rights activist on a television interview discussing the importance of “natural alliances” in the struggle for equality. He stated that “African-Americans” were a “natural ally” for gay people as a result of the similarities in our shared experiences. I also remember thinking to myself, “Good luck with that one.” While Blacks and homosexuals have clearly endured similar…

brooklyn-billboards-challenge-racial-inequality-in-nyc
51
advertising

Brooklyn Billboards Challenge Racial Inequality in NYC

A slew of anonymous billboards have emerged on bus shelters across the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn and they all speak to one simple message: we as a nation are not past racial discrimination. “Racism Still Exists” is the title of the advert campaign that is seeking to broadcast the way racial disparities continue to impact…