First Year M.S. Applied Data Science students at Howard University who has engaged with the HELLO BLACK WORLD (HBW) Curriculum.
Howard University
Story of the course
At Howard University, a Historically Black College and University, comprising 14 schools and colleges, students come from all over the United States and the world with myriad cultural backgrounds, gender expressions, and abilities. Howard ranks among the highest producers of the nation’s Black professionals in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, nursing, architecture, religion, law, music, social work, and education. The University has long held a commitment to the study of disadvantaged persons in American society and throughout the world. The goal is the elimination of inequities related to race, color, social, economic, and political circumstances. As the only truly comprehensive predominantly Black university, Howard is one of the major engineers of change in our society. Through its traditional and cutting-edge academic programs, the University seeks to improve the circumstances of all people in the search for peace and justice on earth.
In response to the imperative of preparing individuals to champion social justice and uphold human liberty, the HELLO BLACK WORLD (HBW) curriculum emerged. As an Associate Professor of Africana Studies and Director of the Data Science program, Dr. Yeboah Quarkume recognized the necessity to foster an educational space where students of African descent perceive themselves as pivotal data points capable of addressing pressing contemporary issues. This curriculum empowers them to harness the tools of data science, a practice deeply entrenched within the historical contributions of people of African descent across centuries.
The HELLO BLACK WORLD (HBW) initiative encapsulates a holistic vision, mindset, and objectives. The original logos, expertly crafted by Michale Robinson, comprise two fundamental symbols: 1. an arrow denoting a new direction in data and technology, accompanied by an open hand resembling the Black Power fist, signifying the imperative to code with an inclusive and open approach; 2. features a face with an afro, symbolizing the opportunity for learners to connect with the data context and see themselves represented. Combined, we look to change the face of data and tech and chart new directions.
The ethos of HBW revolves around providing learners with access and pathways to join the community of developers, creators, and knowledge producers in the data and tech domain. Lastly, the agenda in the five-course offerings includes acquiring proficiency in a coding language, understanding ethics in data and tech, exploring spatial data, managing data effectively, and gaining hands-on experience to leverage data for social impact.
Inspiration to start the course
In the field of STEM and STEM education, there are pervasive disparities in the representation and engagement of students of African descent within the realms of data and computer science education. Historically, these fields have lacked diverse narratives and cultural perspectives, resulting in a disconnect between the subject matter and the lived experiences of underrepresented learners. This disconnect not only hampers the educational journey of these students but also perpetuates a cycle of unequal participation in burgeoning technological disciplines. The inequities that exist in STEM education have an impact on diversity in STEM careers, suggesting that a lack of a comprehensive STEM curriculum can limit future career options for students. As data science continues to grow quickly, the education gap must be closed or we will see more disparity across the field.
Course Example
The HELLO BLACK WORLD (HBW) curriculum is designed for students of African descent seeking to nurture their data and computer science skills with a strong emphasis on African contributions and creative thinking. This curriculum encompasses computer science, data science, data visualization, digital humanities, ethical considerations, and communication, all viewed through a social justice lens. Its primary goal is to elevate, empower and engage students in a manner that resonates with their cultural heritage and identity. HBW is composed of five courses: (1) Introduction to the Black Digital World I: Coding; (2) Introduction to the Black Digital World II: Managing Data; (3) Algorithmic Data Bias and Ethics, (4) Mapping & Visualizing Black People, Place and Culture, and (5) Tech and Social Justice by Design (Experiential Learning Course).
Inspired by the lack of diversity, ethics and equity in the data and tech fieldHBW centres marginalized narratives and encourages students to also think critically about the societal impacts of technology fostering a commitment to accountability and transparency. This program provides the necessary resources and knowledge for a contemporary cohort of students to thrive in the current technology environment, while also reinforcing their cultural legacy. Through the implementation of an innovative methodology, the curriculum addresses the issue of educational disparity, while aiming to promote diversity, representation, and social justice.
Barrier: Designed for non-stem majors, one of major barriers to overcome is encouraging non-STEM learners to journey over to the STEM side. Traditional students of African descent have been weeded out of traditional STEM spaces or not supported to excel well. HBW facilitates a new direction in data and computer science education by actively incorporating the narratives, accomplishments, and advancements of the Black World, which are frequently marginalized and disregarded.
The next phase of the curriculum involves an integration of generative AI to personalize learning experiences, across all 54 African countries and the expansive African diaspora, mitigating the challenge of varying skill levels, diverse language and cultural backgrounds among students. By tailoring coding exercises and challenges to individual proficiencies and country of origin, the curriculum bridges the knowledge gap and fosters a sense of relevance, inclusion, and achievement. The absence of assumed prior programming or statistical knowledge further ensures that all learners, regardless of their starting point, can embark on a journey of discovery and skill acquisition.
Howard’s aim is to forward the development of scholars and professionals who drive change and engage in scholarship that provides solutions to contemporary global problems, particularly issues impacting the African Diaspora.
Developing curriculum across departments, especially for a gen ed requirement for undergraduates, makes course marketing lighter.
Upper-class, white, cisgender male culture has historically created, exploited, and controlled the tech and data industry. Imagine a world where there was NO food insecurity, NO toxic drinking water, NO mass incarceration, NO infant mortality, or NO elementary school dropouts. In order to make that happen, we need to involve some of all of our communities so we can begin to model such a reality. Don’t get weary in doing the hard work of centering marginalized narratives.
A-ha Moment
Coding serves as the entry point to the data and computer science industry, and once we overcome that initial hurdle, the digital realm unfolds as expansively as the natural world.
a sophomore and member of the inaugural cohort of the Morehouse Community Data Fellowship who has completed Morehouse College research modules
Morehouse College
Inspiration to start the course
At Morehouse College, the nation’s only liberal arts college founded for Black men, the implementation of data science courses has required that we consider both the historical content of work that preceded the recent rise in data science discourses and the current needs of students and the interests of faculty. As one example from the early 1900s, we engage the data scientific work of well-known scholar W.E.B. Du Bois, the first African American to receive a Ph.D. Du Bois was a faculty member at the neighboring Atlanta University (now known as Clark Atlanta University) and his research was conducted in partnership with communities and students. His work, far ahead of its time, played an integral role in the design and development of courses, and modules at the College.
Course Example
The research modules described allow faculty to implement various case studies into their interdisciplinary explorations. Modules focus on connecting contemporary issues with historical issues. Each research module is based on a data science framework that explores connections between a case study (or studies) and the local community contexts. These include historical and archival explorations, often from library resources, and an examination of the relationship between historical contexts and contemporary events, both recent and current. As a result, each module is interdisciplinary in nature. Specifically, modules require that learners engage in a host of readings to help make sense of the literature and historical contexts of their topics, while understanding and exploring contemporary research, data science frameworks, and methods that can be used to continue any historical traditions identified.
As Morehouse College continues to design and implement a diverse range of courses and co-curricular modules and activities to advance data science across the College, supports have come from a host of collaborations and partnerships. For example, the Data and the African Diaspora course, the first of its kind, was designed as a first-year experience seminar by faculty across member institutions of the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC), the nation’s home to multiple Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Spelman College.
At many small liberal arts colleges, the creation and development of new courses must be considered within the broader context of the College’s curricular priorities and educational goals. Although data science courses and computation are becoming key features of undergraduate education across the U.S., Morehouse College faculty, in collaboration with faculty members at other AUCC institutions, had to take into consideration the historical legacies of their institutions alongside contemporary practices in relation to their collective and College-specific priorities.
Morehouse College, along with the AUCC member institutions were founded during the period of American Reconstruction (post-1865), following the American Civil War and the abolition of chattel slavery of Black Americans. The research modules designed by faculty and advisory board members at Morehouse College were inspired by and follow in line with the historical educational practices during this period which were implemented across the AUCC member institutions. These practices stretch back to both the College’s and the consortium’s founding, also in 1865. Broadly, they represent a series of co-curricular inquiries that have been designed in response to local community issues of longstanding systemic inequities and, specifically, racial injustices.
The next phase of development around these modules will occur at the department level. Various departments have continued to integrate a host of shared resources with their colleagues and students. In doing so, the development of a minor and other educational opportunities in data science are being prepared for students and the community alike.
Engaging first-year students in research experiences provides an opportunity for new students to gain technical skills and critical perspectives early in their postsecondary education.
Supporting faculty with building cultural and historical knowledge allows for an increase in course and module designs that support interdisciplinary learning experiences.
Developing co-curricular programming for the local community presents key opportunities for important exchanges with local community members and organizations.
Developing a board of faculty members to support the recruitment and overview of module-based curriculum development and feedback is an important component to engagement. Often, faculty are overwhelmed with multiple priorities and their feedback in a cross-disciplinary group presents opportunities to examine the value of data science work to improve student learning. As a result, when conducting community based work, faculty organizers should consider the role of youth, family, and community advisors.
A-ha Moment
Local community organizations, such as youth centers, churches, and social support providers, are not always readily available to serve as partners. These partnerships require care and time, and they are not the work of faculty and students in silos. In our local contexts, one a-ha moment was to have the college community, and especially administrators and faculty leaders, consider the historical role that an institution has played in the local community and, by doing so, ensure that reducing harm, purpose, and resource sharing are key to developing collaborations.
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