Our Stories in the Code: A Tradition of Black Education and the Ethics of AI Learning Technologies
By Symone Campbell, PhD and Semaj Campbell-Blakes, PhD
Adjunct Professor, Howard University
Post Doctoral Research Associate, University of Notre Dame.
Published in Freedom: Volume 3
Keywords
Black Educational Technology, AI Ethics, Critical Data Studies, Racial Socialization, Algorithmic Bias
Abstract
This study draws on the historical lineage of Black-oriented educational technologies to conceptualize how frameworks of racial socialization, identity formation, and cultural self-definition catered toward Black youth have transformed from early print media to today’s artificially intelligent learning environments. Mainstream AI and EdTech tools often reproduce dominant ideologies of race through algorithmic bias and cultural omission. Historically, culturally relevant publications, broadcasts, and programs such as The Brownies’ Book and Ebony Jr!, radio shows like Adventures in Negro History and Black Treasures, and television programming such as Sesame Street, functioned as formative tools of cultural transmission, embedding Afrocentric values, affirming racial pride, and nurturing what Nobles (1976) termed the Extended Self among Black youth. Drawing on frameworks of Afrocentric culturalization, particularly those of Nobles (1976), Allen and Hatchett (1986), Allen (1998), and Allison and Belgrave (2018), who collectively conceptualized racialization in Black media as both reflective and constitutive of racial consciousness, this paper argues that culturally responsive digital learning environments must be guided by the same ideological commitments that shaped earlier Black educational media producers. Using a critical data studies lens, this work examines real case studies of Black-oriented AI and EdTech tools to determine how principles of racial socialization and identity development can be operationalized within AI-driven educational platforms, ensuring that Black students remain both academically and culturally nourished. Ultimately, this study bridges the historical continuity between print-era Black educational media and the digital platforms shaping contemporary learning, advancing a framework for designing educational technologies that affirm, rather than erase, Black cultural identity.
Digital Object Identifier
DOI: https://DOI.org/10.65373/YUHE2802
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