The Fact of Blackness: COVID-19, Medical Data, and the Racial Design of Public Health
Channel: Data & Society Research Institute
Date: 2020-05-07

For this Data & Society Network Talk, public health expert Kenyon Farrow and sociologist Tamara K. Nopper discuss racial disparities in COVID-19’s impact, reporting, and analyses. Data collection is often inherently political, and this crisis lays bare racist disparities in terms of public health and how medical data is being collected and publicly disseminated in ways that are unequal and/or incomplete. Drawing from past health crises, Farrow and Nopper discuss strategies for demanding and using race-focused data and combating medical misinformation. They also consider how anti-Blackness informs the design of medical and public health infrastructures and state responses. 

This conversation is hosted by Data & Society’s Kellie Owens, Researcher, Health + Data.

This conversation was recorded on Friday, April 17, 2020.



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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Kenyon Farrow is an award-winning writer, activist, and strategist. He has worked on campaigns large and small, local, national, and global on issues related to public health, healthcare, criminalization/mass imprisonment, homelessness, and LGBT rights. He is currently the senior editor with TheBody.com and TheBodyPro.com, news and information sites focused on HIV, LGBT health and social justice, and serves on the board of NY Transgender Advocacy Group (NYTAG) and is board chair of Global Black Gay Men Connect. Prior to joining TheBody, he served as U.S. & Global Health Policy director for Treatment Action Group (TAG) and former executive director of Queers for Economic Justice. He’s also worked as an organizer and communications strategist for groups like Critical Resistance, FIERCE, and Housing Works. In addition to his political work, Kenyon is a prolific essayist and author. He is the co-editor of the book Letters From Young Activists: Today’s Rebels Speak Out. His work has also appeared in many anthologies including Spirited: Affirming the Soul of Black Lesbian and Gay Identity, For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough, We Have Not Been Moved: Resisting Racism and Militarism in 21st Century America, and Black Gay Genius: Answering Joseph Beam’s Call. His work has also appeared on websites and in publications such as The Atlantic, TheGrio, Colorlines, ReWire News, The American Prospect, and AlterNet. Kenyon’s work has been recognized by many institutions including Out Magazine’s “Out 100” and The Advocate magazine’s “40 Under 40.” He was also named a “Modern Black History Hero” by Black Entertainment Television. Twitter: @kenyonfarrow.

Tamara K. Nopper is a sociologist and affiliate of The Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies (CR+DS). Her research focuses on the racial wealth gap, credit scoring systems and the push for alternative data, and the intersection between racism, financialization, criminalization, and punishment. Twitter: @tamaranopper.