[rtpnet-tact] What the community network movement is all about

[Judy Hallman]

To TACT list:

I'm forwarding below (with permission from Nettrice), two messages to the
CTCNet connect list that I think describe what the community network
movement is about. -- Judy

#1 ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 22 Feb 2003 12:51:34 -0500
From: nettrice at onebox.com
To: connect at ctcnet.org
Subject: [CTC] ctc visibility idea - diversity awards contest

I am late to this discussion but something just came to my mind
regarding the issue.  After hosting a televised tribute to Toni
Stone earlier this month for the Commonwealth Broadband
Collaborative (Boston), it became clear to me that the first CTC
was in Harlem and CTCNet was founded by a pioneer who happened to
be a white lady with enough guts to take computers into New York
City prisons where there was a need for educational and workforce
development.  Eventually, she expanded her idea to include the
poor neighborhoods in the city, esp. Harlem.  Her vision was
equal access for the underserved and it was less about diversity
(race) as it was starting from one's corner and going to where
access was needed the most.

People are often too careful when discussing race, class, or
gender when it has to do with technology access and digital
opportunities.  The disparity as far as access to technology
often lies along lines of race and class but it is also about
expectations...false expectations.  There is a phenomenon called
the Pygmalion Effect that refers to a persistently held belief in
something such that the belief becomes a reality.  It's also
called a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When I opened the BNN Multimedia Center in Roxbury, a young lady
(under age 18) dropped in to tell me she thought I had made a
mistake putting a multimedia center in her neighborhood.  She
thought no one would come or that the computers would be stolen.
Back then I could not convince her otherwise.  The center has
been open two years now and it's a lively place that has been
gradually embraced by the Roxbury/Boston community.

People go where they naturally feel comfortable.  This is
because, believing certain conditions are the norm, they accept
certain things even if it's false or not true.  Some people,
because of the conditions where they live, are uncomfortable
around technology. This goes for anything and these people are
hesitant and much less able to see the value in something they
believe does not belong. Most of the time we are less likely to
try hard to get them to understand our point of view. We are
victims of a label that has been placed on us by society or
people in positions of power.

The biggest issue I've encountered in my CTC work, as well as
education and other professional work, has been in dealing with
the so-called "pygmalion effect".  Bridging the digital divide
has layers that are often more internal or psychological,
depending on what side of the divide(s) one is on.

#2 ---------- Forwarded message ----------
Subject: Off-Topic reply to -> workforce development and CTCs
From: nettrice at onebox.com
Date: Thu Mar 06 2003 - 19:31:19 EST

This topic and discussion reminds me of something I experienced
in the 4th grade. It was parent's day. Every week the parent of
a student would come in to tell the class about their job. I
think the year was '78 and my mother came to tell kids about her
job as a computer programmer/analyst. I was embarassed because
no one (including the teacher) understood anything she talked
about. I decided then and there that computers were not for me.

Nearly a decade later, I was a senior visual arts student in a
new magnet high school and reluctantly participated in an
experimental computer graphics class. I was surprised and
extremely interested. Using the computer as a tool to make art
was exciting to me, so much so that I chose to major in that
field.

What I did not mention was that my mother, the computer
programmer, was a Black woman who grew up very poor and she was
the first in our large family to go to college. I took that for
granted and did not even think there might be a place in the
computer field for me.

This Saturday there is a Girls Get Connected Conference in
Boston. It's an event to give girls a chance to be exposed to
various technology fields and mostly female professionals who
excel in them. We will be facilitating a digital video
production and Flash/rotoscoping workshop for girls who are
interesting in the mediamaking side of technology. Perhaps there
are girls who are like I was-- turned off by the programming side
of computers but interested in making art and media. Maybe they
will learn that technology is just a tool...from our end it is
about diversifying the workforce in as many ways as possible.

I think access to technology is the first step but helping people
to find their own visions and paths using technology is surely
the next step.

It's an interesting discussion so far!

-- 
Nettrice Gaskins
nettrice at onebox.com - email
(617) 598-1014 x7508 - voicemail/fax