Mary Owusu and Pierre DeBois on Ending Racism in the Analytics Field and Beyond
This episode is not like the rest, but it is a crucially important conversation right now in the aftermath of the George Floyd death and resulting uprising.
I decided it was time to use this platform to reveal the hidden bars of the birdcage in the tech field and beyond.
So, I invited two highly respected people of color in the digital analytics field to share their experiences with discrimination and racism, and their best advice for how to collaborate and ally with the white community.
Mary Owusu is an award-winning digital marketing executive, entrepreneur and educator. As an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Canisius College in Buffalo New York, she infuses critical-thinking discussions about diversity and inclusion into her digital marketing and analytics courses.
Mary is also an executive director on the Digital Analytics Association (DAA) board, where she’s currently co-chairing the DAA’s anti-racism committee.
Pierre DeBois is the founder and CEO of Zimana, an analytics services firm that helps organizations achieve profitability improvements in marketing, Web development, and business operations. He has contributed articles to CMS Wire, DMNews, and Information Week.
He is also an associate editor of business book reviews for Small Business Trends, and credited as a technical editor for two Pearson/Que digital marketing publications. He is currently working on his first R programming book, R for Business Analysis as well as a book collaboration called Faith, Failure, and Success.
Mary and Pierre both offer heartbreaking stories of racial oppression and discrimination both in the tech field and their personal lives, helping me unpack and uncomfortably face the dark truth that racism is still at large all around us.
This is by far the most intensely emotional, and inspiring episode I’ve ever recorded.
In This Episode, You’ll Learn…
- The hidden dark side of racial inequality that still exists in the corporate tech field
- Heartbreaking stories of surviving as an African immigrant and being targeted for firing
- Why listening, empathy, and identity politics are the keys to inspiring activism
- The unique ways black women train their sons to keep them safe–that white mothers don’t even have to think about
- How would-be white allies can take an active role in helping to eradicate racial injustice and inequality
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to recommended, books, products, or services. I may earn a small commission when you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Here's what that means.
People, Blogs, and Resources Mentioned
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
- 13 Ways of Looking at a Black Man by Henry Louis Gates
- How to Succeed in Business Without Being White: Straight Talk on Making It in America by Earl Graves
- “The Look” – powerful short film on visual discrimination against black men in America
- “13th” – Netflix documentary on the criminalization of African Americans and the US prison industry
- “Our Friend Martin” – kid-friendly Youtube film on the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Nielsen demographic insights
- Podcast guest Dominick Quartuccio’s LinkedIn post on Anti-Racism for Leadership
- CodepaLOUsa 2020
How You Can Get Support and Take a Stand to Help End Racism
- Call your lawmakers with the free 5 Calls App
- Join the Digital Analytics Association’s Anti-Racism Committee with Mary by sending an email to info at daa dot org.
- Self-educate with anti-racism books and movies, and fact-checked news sources like the Winno App
- Talk to your kids with resources like “Our Friend Martin” and the We Read Too app
- Practice self-care as a black, indigenous, or person of color with apps like GrpFit and Liberate Meditation
How to Keep Up with Mary and Pierre:
- Mary: Gurubound Website and LinkedIn
- Pierre: Zimana Analytics Blog and LinkedIn
NOTE: In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, I am donating 20% of my net proceeds until September 2020 to charitable organizations that work against police brutality and support peace.
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks so much for joining me. Have some feedback you’d like to share, or a question? Leave a note in the comments below, and we’ll get back to you!
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A very special thank you to Pierre & Mary for joining me for this very special episode.
And as always, viz responsibly, my friends.
Namaste,
Photo Credit: Koshu Kunii on Unsplash
