Think Black: A Memoir

Deceit and deception characterized their relationship from the very start.

Skin color conveyed intelligence for him. Lighter skin meant greater intellect, darker skin the opposite. My father read widely of such racist views in books and articles by authors such as Arthur

Activists also have a key role to play. They can give themselves impeccable training in all aspects of digital literacy. They can insist on digital literacy curricula in the K–12 classrooms of all communities, especially marginalized communities and communities of color. They can use social media to organize actions but not to conduct meaningful di

a majority of White Americans believe that Black Americans are lazier and less intelligent than Whites, and they believe that Blacks do little to change their dismal economic circumstances.7

By the mid-1950s, the era of the Pullman porter was closing, as digital technology was similarly shutting down the era of the elevator operator. Passengers traveling upward could now control their journeys

While their creators seek to craft them as some sort of digital gods, algorithms actually learn from the profane experience of humans. When asked about the perfect search engine, Google cofounder Sergey Brin said, “It would be like the mind of God.”27 Yet even Brin, though he might try, cannot endow Google’s algorithms with God’s mind. To learn, to

can be profound. Often it begins with the introduction of a new technology, which brings with it decreased progress in racial relations but also the seeds of a renewal of progress as marginalized people adopt and become proficient with the new technology. And then, when an even newer technology arises, the cycle begins again.

“a country club Klan.”

Instead, his reaction reminded me of the man I knew playing chess, who’d already glimpsed many moves in advance and had a response waiting for any move his opponent could make.