#causeascene

#causeascene


Dr. Brandeis Marshall

January 22, 2020

Podcast Description
“I want every US presidential candidate…to give me a list of what they are going to in order to address institutionalized racism. I want to know what regulations, I want to know the policies, I want to know the data. And I want to be able to review your plan. Give me a plan for that. How are we going to address inequity in education? How are we going to address the fact that we have books written for and by white men? How are we going to start putting things in that highlight more than slavery when it comes to Black people?”
Dr. Brandeis Marshall is a computer science scholar, educator and founder of DataedX. Her work focuses on the racial, gendered and socioeconomic impact of data in technology, including designing data science pedagogy for marginalized communities and assessing the socio-technical implications of BlackTwitter. Dr. Marshall participates in increasing data literacy and understanding, sharing best data practices and broadening participation in computer + data science through speaker and workshop leader engagements. For more info visit www.brandeismarshall.com. 

Transcription
00:31

Kim Crayton: Woo! Hello, everyone, and welcome to today's episode of the #causeascene podcast. I'm already giggling. So this will be a very interesting episode. I'm not gonna hesitate. I have Dr. Brandeis Marshall on the show today. And if you could introduce yourself to the audience, please.

Dr. Brandeis Marshall: Oh, sure. I am a computer scientist by training. I am an instructor/educator like yourself by occupation. I teach at the college level and above, and I am running a startup. So I just started a startup about a couple months ago, so we could talk about that too. I'm working day and night, traveling, speaking, resting, dealing with a lot of wellness. So it was very nice to get a little rest and relaxation over the past few days, and now we're gonna get back to the grind. So that is me in a nutshell.

01:29

KC: All right, so I start the show as always, as you know: Why is it important to cause a scene? And how are you causing a scene?

DBM: All right. Oh, here we go.

KC: Here we go. Let's dive into this. And also, just to let you know, this is an uncensored show, so you can use whatever words, whatever phrasing you feel like, go ahead.

DBM: OK, the United States, and in fact, I think the world, is becoming more Black and Brown. Yet our educational system does not reflect its constituents in the books that we learn from, in the instruction that we have. In particular, since I'm in this data science space, I work a lot with trying to broaden participation, access, inclusion and representation in computing and in data science. We don't have any people of color, just period. So, as someone that has been teaching for a long time, I'm just now moving into trying to find nuggets and examples and showcase all of that. It could be at the collegiate level, it could be at the professional level, but I'm trying to build in race, gender, class to whomever I'm instructing.

02:56

KC: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, when Dr. Brandeis logged in, I had to pause her for a second cause I had to complete a tweet. And I sent her the tweet, and we just started laughing because this tweet by an individual—and I'm gonna share it in the links—but it says,

"Sorry, Beale Street was too much for me. Though beautifully acted, written, and shot, I'm exhausted by examples of Black love engulfed in trauma and horrible endings." 

I had to tweet this because I said, "This is why I won't view any more video of Black bodies being beaten by police or terrorized by whiteness going about our daily lives. Yes, Blacks have had to endure the horrors of white supremacy. YET I REFUSE to allow this to be the only NEGATIVE NARRATIVE that's told."

I just, I get it,