Partnerships between companies and universities are increasingly commonplace and offer mutual benefit, despite some of the challenges inherent in these collaborations. This joint talk offers a close-up view of a partnership between the Black Beyond Data project at Johns Hopkins University and included, a company that promotes social equity and human dignity through design. Together, Rene Payne and Kim Gallon, will discuss their joint work on a black digital humanities and data project that commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Black Press and centers the concept, "technology of recovery" as both a design and community centered praxis.

Kim Gallon is an Associate Professor of Africana Studies. Her work investigates the cultural dimensions of the Black Press in the early twentieth century. Her first book, Pleasure in the News: African American Readership and Sexuality in the Black Press (University of Illinois Press, 2020) —argues that African American newspapers fostered Black sexual expression, agency, and identity in the first half of the twentieth century. Gallon is also the author of the field defining article, “Making a Case for the Black Digital Humanities.” 

Rene is the founder and director of included. She combines award-winning design and strategy with her experience breaking down antiquated social and cultural barriers to forge strong and lasting alliances with her clients. Her work has spanned the marketplace, from community organizations to Fortune 500 companies. Her gift and passion as a strategist, artist, designer, and creative director are her ability to listen to her clients and interpret their vision in strategically sound and emotionally powerful ways.