The Detroit Community Technology Project (DCTP) is seeking a Data Justice Community Fellow for a 6-month curriculum development project. The primary focus of the Fellow will be to incorporate existing Data Justice media into a training curriculum suitable for community organizations, businesses, and others seeking an actionable pathway to mindful Data Stewardship. The role’s focus explores issues of data rights, digital privacy and racial and economic inequality in the United States. We strongly encourage people of color, women, non-binary, LGBTQIA, and disabled candidates to apply!
Position Details
This is a part-time contract position with the expectation of 15-20 hours of work per week at a rate of $30 per hour, beginning in March of 2022.
Application materials accepted until Noon (Eastern) on Friday, February 25, 2022.
About the Data Justice Community Fellow
The Data Justice Community Fellow will work with the Equitable Internet Initiative team to develop learning modules and a 1-2 day “lab” workshop based in media co-developed during the foundations of Data Justice programming at DCTP. This curriculum will be modeled after EII’s Digital Stewards curriculum and pop-ed pedagogy, and will incorporate tools and resources which include:
- Consentful Technology Curriculum - Consentful Tech Project
- Toolkit for Centering Racial Equity throughout Data Integration - Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy, University of Pennsylvania
- Digital Defense Playbook - Our Data Bodies Project
Specific Responsibilities
- Organize and develop a teaching and learning curriculum from existing catalogue of Data Justice resources created or co-created by DCTP
- Design and conduct a group training workshop adaptable for different audiences, including community organizations, businesses, and university groups
- Facilitate a participatory design process for a workshop series to support a cohort of community organizers with a train-the-trainer approach
- Work with local data technologists to develop and/or facilitate activities and materials for DiscoTech events that demystify data and empower residents to use data for community organizing efforts
- Contribute to a pop-ed documentation to accompany data steward trainings, workshops, or self-learning
- Contribute to organizational communications, documentation, and evaluation of Data Justice activities
- Contribute to reporting requirements required by grant guidelines.
Other anticipated activities include:
- Organizing community technology fairs in Detroit, in collaboration with the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition
- Conducting surveys and some one-to-one interviews to inform program development
- Facilitating group presentations
- Supporting participation in coalition relationships and attending public hearings and community meetings
- Participating in Consentful technology training and Digital Stewardship certification
Qualifications
Training will be provided in participatory design methods. We will look for the following qualifications in consideration of candidates for this position:
- Experience in curriculum development, teaching, or training
- Strong facilitation skills
- Strong interpersonal and time-management skills
- Desire and ability to work in diverse communities
- Ability to work collaboratively, as well as ability to self-direct
- Experience in organizing community events
- Experience facilitating virtual conferencing and collaboration tools like Zoom, etc.
- Basic computer skills
- Familiarity with Detroit’s neighborhoods and community organizing landscape
- Spanish or Arabic fluency is a plus
- Familiarity with popular education approaches and methods is a plus
- Familiarity with participatory design is a plus
- Familiarity with the Digital & Data Justice landscape nationally and locally is a plus
How to Apply: Resume + Note of Interest
Emailed applications are preferred while we continue to work from home; please use the subject line: "Data Justice Community Fellow". Send your resume and note of interest to communitytech@alliedmedia.org by Noon eastern time on Monday, February 28, 2022. Candidates advanced beyond introductory interviews may be asked to provide professional references. The ideal start date for this position is March 16, 2022.
Note of Interest
Please respond to the following inquiries in your note of interest:
- What does Data Justice mean to you? How does it look, sound, or feel?
- What type of space can Data Justice work hold in the overall racial justice organizing landscape in Detroit?
- What are some of the teaching and/or facilitation practices you've found to be constructive in community spaces?
- How do you experience working in and with community groups?
- What is your availability to work with us in this capacity?
About Detroit Community Technology Project
The Detroit Community Technology Project’s mission is to use and develop technology rooted in community needs that strengthens human connections to each other and the planet. DCTP works towards a future where people who have been marginalized from political and economic power have the ability to leverage Internet technologies to shape the future of their neighborhoods and regions.
About Data Justice at DCTP
We hold that the conflation between surveillance/security and safety has made us less safe. We understand that in order to create true safety, we must strengthen interpersonal connections, resources and opportunities within our communities. We nurture the existence of a more equitable and just future online and offline.
The long-term goals of DCTP’s Data Justice work are to shift the current culture and economy of technology away from the extraction of personal data without consent, towards a new standard of practice in which privacy protection, user agency, and awareness of the potential harms of data collection are the norm. The Data Justice program began in 2015 with a collaboration between academics and community-based organizations to explore the meaning and experience of privacy and data flows among poor and working class adults. Simultaneously, Detroit’s state of surveillance began a serious uptick with the introduction of Project Green Light and later the faulty Facial Recognition Technology to pair with PGL’s live camera feeds. Under the leadership of our beloved Tawana Petty, DCTP began mapping surveillance infrastructure, educating Detroiters and others on the innate harms of surveillance tech, and uplifting the vital dialogue on surveillance versus safety.
The Team
The Data Justice Community Fellow position is based at the offices of Allied Media Projects in Detroit, but will be held remotely. The fellow will work closely with the Equitable Internet Initiative team and will report directly to the Director of the Detroit Community Technology Project. The Data Justice Community Fellow will work in collaboration with the DCTP team, Community Tech New York team, and leaders from the Equitable Internet Initiative, Detroit Digital Justice Coalition, and beyond.
Hiring Practices
The Detroit Community Technology is a Direct Project of Allied Media Projects (AMP). Allied Media Projects is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, religion, HIV serostatus, disability, height, weight, veteran status or marital status.