Symphonii Smith-Kennedy is a 23-year-old Jamaican-American artist from South Florida, exploring themes of identity, race, and queerness through her painting. A graduate of New World School of the Arts, she creates art to reflect on her experiences as a Black queer woman and aims to build connections through her work. Symphonii’s debut solo show Interwoven […]
Category: Digital Equity Lab
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
Out in Tech is supporting queer people in the technology sector
Almost any job today requires knowledge of technological skills from things as simple as sending emails to coding complex programs. Yet for members of the LGBTQ+ community, it can feel like there is an absence of inclusive tech spaces. The nonprofit Out in Tech is seeking to remedy this by creating a community of LGBTQ+ tech leaders […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
How queer Baltimore tattoo artists are building strong community spaces
Fruit Camp, a tattoo and art studio in the Remington neighborhood of Baltimore, opened with a bang in February of 2020. “We had a big opening party. It was really fun. Everybody came,” says Geo Mccandlish, one of the co-founders. “It was the last rager I went to,” they said. The pandemic shut down their shop—alongside […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
LGBTQ+ Business Bootcamp aims to uplift and guide queer entrepreneurs
With the Trump administration’s harsh rhetoric and policies coming into effect, it’s a difficult year to be queer or a business owner. Kristina Wynne hopes to alleviate some of that. Now entering its sixth year, the Illinois LGBT Chamber of Commerce LGBTQ+ Biz Bootcamp aims to lift up and prepare LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs for a successful […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Indigiqueer artist Tricia Rainwater digs deep into personal, cultural histories
In one of her Instagram posts, multimedia artist Tricia Rainwater stands inside a picnic shelter at Cadron Settlement Park in Cadron, Arkansas. She wears a red plaid dress and black laced-up boots, with some of her tattoos visible on her legs and left hand. Her long, dark hair frames her face, and large hoops hang […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
Finding an ally in AI
With the increased use of AI technology in everyday life, people have been raising concerns about inclusivity and safety. LGBT tech, a national nonpartisan group, is advocating for the community by creating AllyAI, the first certification for AI systems to ensure bias is identified and mitigated against LGBTQ individuals. LGBT Tech was founded by Chris Wood […]
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Building queer community through bicycles
Fairmount Bicycles, a queer-owned bike shop focused on social justice through their programs and partnerships, began when its owner, Shelly Walker, rode from her home in West Philadelphia to Kensington. Before she arrived at the warehouse where she and a friend sold bicycles, she took in the sights of dense, vibrant Fairmount and wondered where […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
Could AI bolster mental healthcare for LGBTQ+ BIPOC youth?
Content Warning: This article discusses topics related to mental health challenges, systemic inequities, and suicide rates among marginalized communities. If you find these topics distressing, please prioritize your well-being and seek support as needed. The mental health challenges of BIPOC and queer youth continue to grow, yet existing support systems often fail to meet their needs. […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
5 things a trans scientist wants you to know about AI
Transgender people were no strangers to the heyday of the internet experimenting with AI text to image generation during primarily 2022 and 2023. Trans writers shared about the potential promise of the technology for producing affirming portraits. The same models, however, researchers found also produced stereotypes and over-sexualization of their depictions of transgender people. Since then, AI use has exploded—as have examples of […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
Queer social media experts weigh in on AI content moderation
Social media platforms commonly use artificial intelligence for content moderation, with the AI software itself relying on algorithms to screen content posted by social media users. Ultimately, the AI determines whether content adheres to or breaches platform guidelines. But issues can arise when a social media company loosens its restrictions on content, or if the […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Queer art in the age of AI: Challenges, ethics and the future
Although the debate around AI and its potential effects on creative fields is relatively recent, the technology at the center of the controversy has been around since the 1950s. There are two main forms of AI; predictive and the currently more controversial, generative. According to IBM, generative AI “refers to deep-learning models that can generate […]
Posted inNews
Generative AI in journalism: Preventing harm and enhancing news consumption
As AI seemingly seeps into every area of consumers’ lives, especially media, it’s now vital to find proper ways to engage with it. AI-generated media content can often further stereotypes or only push user-frequented content about marginalized communities. However, experts say a few tools can be used in order to benefit consumers and increase their news consumption. […]
Posted inCommunity
Preserving history through The Dallas Way archives
What started more than 10 years ago as a simple suggestion has grown into one of the nation’s largest LGBTQ archives. Since 2011, The Dallas Way has led the effort to preserve the stories of Dallas’s LGBTQ community. The idea for the organization was sparked when a Dallas Voice reporter was interviewing community leaders Jack […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
Lived experience guides Tate Smith’s trans and DEI consulting firm
Five years ago, Tate Smith, then a legal secretary, decided it was time to share something about himself at his workplace, Clifford Chance, a major law firm in London. “I was like, ‘OK, I haven’t spoken publicly since I was in high school, and I don’t know if I can do it.’ But then I […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
The queer couple fighting for DEI — with math
When faced with questions of diversity, equity, and inclusion, detractors often respond with demands for evidence or complaints about cost. Husbands Chad Topaz and Jude Higdon spend their time trying to find answers to those questions — on top of their other jobs as math professor, university administrator, and parents to a son and two dogs. It started when Topaz, […]
Posted inCommunity
Baking with a mission: Darnel’s Cakes advocates for HIV/AIDS awareness
Advocacy takes many forms. For Kyle Cuffie-Scott, it means opening a bakery in honor of his cousin Darnel, dedicated to raising awareness about HIV/AIDS. For the last five years, he has run Darnel’s Cakes, an LGBTQ+- and Black-owned bakery in Northern Liberties, with co-owner Joe Lope. Cuffie-Scott, who is originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, got his start […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
Queer Chicana artist Jaqui Almaguer uses traditional styles to highlight immigrant experiences
For many children, an introduction to art comes from museums or kindergarten art classes. For Jaqui Almaguer, it was Little Village graffiti. Almaguer, a 42-year-old self-taught Chicago-based artist, had a lifetime of experiences before committing to an art career full-time. Now, she’s putting her Chicana heritage and spiritual beliefs into her vibrant traditionally inspired painted […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
Why inclusive design in tech is critical for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC folks
We live in a world where technology is always with us, influencing everything we do, from shopping online to staying connected with friends. When tech products and platforms are designed with only one type of person in mind, others get left behind, especially marginalized communities, like BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) and LGBTQ+ […]
Posted inArts and Entertainment
For artist Marcel Pardo Ariza, representation matters
It’s a sunny Sunday afternoon in San Francisco’s Mission District – a welcomed reprieve from the more-frequent chilly, overcast, windy and rainy conditions in the city this time of the year. The warmer weather translates to people being out and about, stopping by popular local establishments such as Bi-Rite Creamery and Market, Dog Eared Books, […]
Posted inDigital Equity Lab
LGBTQ+ advocates warn Meta’s policy changes ‘putting us back in the dark ages’
LGBTQ+ advocates have expressed alarm in recent weeks, as Meta has taken steps to undermine protections for queer youth and apparently worked to appease the incoming conservative administration in Washington. Meta, the parent company of popular social media and messaging companies Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is owned by Mark Zuckerberg, who was once considered to be an ally of […]