I thought this might be of interest to people on this list! Christian ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Christian Sandvig <csandvig@umich.edu> Date: Mon, Feb 1, 2021 at 7:09 PM Subject: TUESDAY: Smash the Mainframe: The Collision Between Civil Rights and Computing (7pm) To: ESC Center <esc-center@umich.edu> Dear ESC colleagues and friends, I'm so excited to speak with Charlton McIlwain tomorrow. We will use an informal discussion format to talk about his recent book "Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice From AfroNet to Black Lives Matter" (Oxford UP). Recently hailed as "thought provoking" (NPR) and "utterly compelling" (New Scientist), the book led PC Magazine to write the headline: "Tech History Is More Than Just 'White, Male Wizards.'" Among other important questions, McIlwain asks, "Will technological tools ever enable us to outrun white supremacy?" This event is open to the public, so please feel free to forward this note if you know of anyone else who would be interested. I hope you will join me there! Christian --- HOW TO PARTICIPATE Watch on YouTube live during the event at: http://umsi.info/charlton TITLE Smash the Mainframe: The Collision Between Civil Rights and Computing SPEAKERS A conversation with Charlton McIlwain, Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, NYU and Christian Sandvig, Director of ESC, University of Michigan DATE / TIME / LOCATION Online via YouTube February 2, 2021 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Times are shown in Eastern Time SPEAKER BIOS Charlton McIlwain is Vice Provost for Faculty Engagement and Development and Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at NYU. His recent work focuses on the intersections of race, digital media, and racial justice activism. His latest book, Black Software: The Internet & Racial Justice,

From the AfroNet to Black Lives Matter, reveals the hidden figures -- from the 1960s to the present -- who fought the power and sparked a revolution in computing technology. Charlton will explore how “smashing the mainframe” became the way to articulate and demonstrate the clash between civil rights and computing in the 1960s. Moreover, his talk will address what that moment in history can teach us about how to fight back against today’s technological threats to racial justice.

Christian Sandvig is Director of the Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing (ESC) and H. Marshall McLuhan Collegiate Professor of Information, Communication & Media. NOTES This event is sponsored by the School of Information with support from the William Warner Bishop Lectureship Fund and the Martha Boaz Lectureship Fund. Link to this event on the Web: https://esc.umich.edu/event/charlton-mcilwain-smash-the-mainframe/ More information about ESC: The Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing: http://esc.umich.edu/ -------- LOOKING AHEAD TO OUR NEXT ESC EVENTS: ESC ROUTES: Covid, Tech, & China (Workshop) February 6, 2021 @ 9:00 am - 11:00 am This event requires advance registration. Working knowledge of Chinese is recommended. See: https://esc.umich.edu/event/esc-routes-covid-tech-china/ Ben Green: Using Algorithms in Government February 8, 2021 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm https://esc.umich.edu/event/ben-green-using-algorithms-in-government/ -------- ESC is generously supported by the School of Information; the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research; and the Department of Communication & Media in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts at the University of Michigan.