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My reflections in #AJOpinion on the role #data collection should (not) play in combatting Europe’s systemic #racism problem — @AJEnglish
Short thread
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/data-collection-solution-europe-racism-problem-200728131435298.html
Short thread
https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/data-collection-solution-europe-racism-problem-200728131435298.html
My piece is a response to a recent @mllebrandee OpEd, which argues that European Union countries need to collect more #equalitydata to address systemic racism in the region.
I offer 4 points of caution to this stance. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/eu-effectively-address-racial-injustice-data-200628102654812.html
I offer 4 points of caution to this stance. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/eu-effectively-address-racial-injustice-data-200628102654812.html
First, "proving" that #racism exists is not the same as dismantling it. Ending racism has to begin and end with political will. Data, while helpful in guiding policy focus, are not a shortcut to creating this will. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/when-proof-is-not-enough/
Second, data extraction can pose a threat to the rights of marginalised and racialised groups in and of itself. Data are not merely recorded or collected, they are produced. In this context, we also need to consider the precedents we have where "more data" approaches backfired.
Third, the positive impact of having more data needs to be assessed with great caution. Decades of evidence of racism collected in the US has failed to bring about the structural change that recent protests have been calling for. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/this-country-has-always-known-about-systemic-police-brutality-will-we-finally-do-something-about-it/2020/06/19/fcf0b246-b1a8-11ea-8f56-63f38c990077_story.html
Centring #racialjustice work around calls for more equality data also plays into an institutional culture that requires marginalised communities to "prove" their own marginalisation with “objective science" before they are believed, thereby keeping oppressing structures in place.
Fourth, if any data is collected, racialised and marginalised groups should be in control of what gets collected and how. Until communities can construct their own data collection and analysis practices, data extraction technologies risk becoming tools for racism.
A crucial first step in all of this is to ask if the data collection is necessary in the first place. Just because we can collect it, does not mean we should. https://builtin.com/data-science/racial-equity-data-integration
Yes, Europe has a problem with systemic racism and, yes, we need to face this head on. But rather than running the risk of adding to existing systems of oppression, we should focus on dismantling the structures and practices that we know to be racist. https://bit.ly/30aR3dK
