Overcoming the impact of systemic racism can feel overwhelming, but we can take hope in the innovative work that leaders from Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Asian communities are already doing to apply technology to work toward racial equity. In support of an open innovation challenge on Antiracist Technology in the U.S., MIT Solve has gathered a group of leaders who each apply technology as part of their antiracist designs, in areas ranging from advancing public safety with systems that do not rely solely on police, enabling healthy self-expression using virtual reality platforms and applying tools from satellite data to help communities respond to climate risks.

Many leaders from Black, Indigenous, Latinx and Asian communities are creating innovative, technology-enabled approaches to building healthy and equitable futures. For example, the Detroit Community Technology Project works to address the 38% of households without internet through neighborhood-governed wireless networks, while also strengthening community trust and digital literacy. Others are helping redesign systems to consider the needs of groups that experience racial inequity.

Now is the time to acknowledge what needs to change, and we should all take the necessary steps to learn about the links between technology design and antiracism. It’s also time to celebrate the innovations being birthed by and for Black, Latinx, Indigenous and Asian communities. We can all play a role to support these innovators by learning, shopping, sharing and investing with an antiracist vision.

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Danielle Wood is an assistant professor in the MIT Media Lab, where she directs the research group Space Enabled.

Danielle Wood

Writing since February 2022 · 1 story contributed