The Future of Technology and Education: How Digital Redlining Impacts Kids and Adults
Have you ever wondered why you only see certain things when doing a google search? Or why housing covenants state that you cannot sell to people of color in certain neighborhoods? Both of these questions can be answered based on their common roots. Redlining and Digital Redlining. The historical importance of redlining and digital redlining is rooted in the oppression of minorities. According to CommonSense.org, though it had an informal start, redlining was signed in to law with the National Housing Act of 1934. This act followed the era of Jim Crow and discrimination of people of color in all parts of life. Due to this law, the Federal Home Bank Loan Board and the Home Owners Loan Corporation drew maps of cities and color coded them based on where they would give out loans. The clearly drawn maps overtly excluded neighborhoods with predominately people of color (as seen in the photo above). Certain cities or neighborhoods explicitly banned certain groups (verbage used included Blacks, Arabs, Asians, Eastern Europeans, etc) while others neighborhoods used more coded language — stating that homes could only be sold to white people. For educators who are just learning about this or want to know more, The Mapping Prejudice Project, put on by the University of Minnesota Libraries in collaboration with Minneapolis Community Justice organizations, details the history behind redlining in terms that are easy to understand for students and adults of all ages. This program also allows for students to engage in helping find redlining covenants. Students can go to this website and search for redlining in housing covenants that are still legally upheld in parts of Minnesota, helping to build the map of where redlining was prevalent in Minnesota. This is a great introduction to the history of redlining and can help set a base line of knowledge for how digital redlining came to be.
Digital Redlining by definition is “the practice of creating and perpetuating inequities between already marginalized groups specifically through the use of digital technologies, digital content, and the internet.” This means that while redlining is physical acts of marginalizing populations, digital redlining is using technology to effectively do the same. There are many examples on the internet and plenty of data to support these claims as evidence. The article, previously mentioned by CommonSense.org, common occurrences of digital redlining happen in higher education. Due to educational blocks put in place, students are only able to access very minimal numbers of research or information that they may search for. The important part of this example is that four year universities and private colleges often have access to more research and information. These colleges also have a students population that is predominately upper-class while community colleges, who have less resources, typically have a working-class population, including students who already belong to marginalized groups. A second example, reported by The Washington Post, details digital redlining within Uber. This example, goes in to detail, providing evidence that Uber seeks out upper-class, predominately white neighborhoods and sends the majority of their drivers to those areas during surge pricing hours. This leaves marginalized neighborhoods without adequate transportation and perpetuates the need to address digital redlining. A third example, provided by Digital Learning and Inquiry, gives readers a look into the digital redlining that Facebook perpetuates. Facebook has put a new “real name policy” in place. This policy allows users to report each other for having a fake name. The intention behind this policy seems to be targeted at preventing fake accounts and trolling. However, the real effect of this policy is much more dangerous. The account detailed in this article discusses a professor whose name “Tressie McPHD” (Real name: Theresa McMillan Cottom) was reported by someone who disagreed with her support on a public post about students protesting at her university, effectively shutting down her account. Theresa is just one of many victims of Facebook’s redlining. All three of these accounts offer detailed examples of digital redlining in common areas of daily life. However, one final example has the most connection to education, especially in this time of COVID-19. A study done in 2017 by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance showed strong evidence that AT&T “systematically discriminated against lower income Cleveland neighborhoods in its deployment of home internet and video technologies over the past decade.” We have seen, as educators, during this pandemic that access to reliable internet and technology across the country is highly unreliable and creates great inequities in our education system. This form of digital redlining is one of the most common. COVID-19 has shown that this form of digital redlining is still in play today and is prevalent in every community in our nation.
So what can we, as educators do to combat digital redlining and make technology a safer, more equitable place for our students? First and foremost, we need to educate ourselves on the history, dangers, and consequences of digital redlining. Once we have knowledge about digital redlining, we will be better equipped to educate on the topic. Second, we can commit ourselves to continuous learning on the topic. New evidence, data, and information are appearing every day on this relatively new topic. By committing to continual learning, we commit to bettering ourselves and our educational abilities. Thirdly, we must begin to educate students in the classrooms about redlining and digital redlining. Giving students the knowledge to seek out these impurities and inequities in our society, arms them with the ability to make change. We can do this by getting students involved with the Mapping Prejudice Project and by allowing them to conduct their own research on digital redlining. Finally, we can educate students on digital privacy and how to eliminate their digital footprints, and other steps detailed in the Digital Learning & Inquiry article. By addressing the importance of redlining and the inequities it seeks to perpetuate, we can begin to enact change and fight for justice in technology and society. We as educators have a duty to our students to learn about and pass on knowledge on digital redlining, in order to make a safer and more equitable digital society for all.
