AMALGAMATION OF THE BLACK POPULATION WITH OTHER RACES | The infographic shows the spectrum of Black identify as recorded in the U.S. Census. The most recent census allow participants to identify with up to 6 race categories thereby, allowing people to express the complexity of their identity. Historically, this has not always been the case. Census categories fluctuate over the years and currently do not satisfy how many American see themselves. Du Bois’s original is limited to Black and white or some now outdated vernacular categories of Blackness such as “brown” and “yellow”. Terms which seem to have migrated to other groups and across colloquial language. We render this spectrum of Black identity as scribble clusters underscoring the amalgamation of identity. In an effort to make Afro-Latinidad visible we also include adjacent red clusters that represent the hispanic ethnicity within the amalgamation clusters. The high gloss and thick lines resemble marks made by an inky marker. 

CITY, SUBURBAN & RURAL POPULATION | At the turn of the 20th Century Du Bois rightfully predicted and evidenced in his data portraits that cities would become central to Black populations in the U.S. due in large part to the Great Migration. In the 21st century that has shifted dramatically to Black populations increasingly moving toward suburban areas. A category that did not exist in 1900. There may be no greater marker of modernity than the suburbs. Indeed, since this phenomenon began in the middle of the 20th Century it has become iconic of the “American Dream” with white picket fences and perfectly maintained lawns. It has also come at a great cost to historically Black areas in cities which were paved over by highway systems to connect the burbs to cities, nearly decimating small town economies in rural America. Now, many factors contribute to the increasing Black suburbanization from higher incomes for some Black families to increasing rates of gentrification in cities making them unaffordable. We updated the iconic spiral used by Du Bois to suggest an unraveling of what used to be the City/Rural divide. The decorative graphics within our spiral suggest wallpaper designs, yet another staple of suburban life.

VISUALIZANDO LA AFRODIGNIDAD: SKIN COLOR & RACE IN PUERTO RICO | The image makes visible a study by Jose Caraballo-Gueto and Isar P. Godreau which makes a compelling argument that the ethno-racial categories provided by the U.S. census are not representative of how Puerto Ricans see themselves and are inadequate to assess the impact of racial inequalities. To determine who is more or less vulnerable to racial discrimination, they use a skin-color scale. When applied to a range of socio-economic characteristics the scale exposes the systemic colorism that has a disproportionate effect on those who are darker-skinned in Puerto Rico. This visualization compares U.S. Census categories against the color-scale. This comparison makes visible the disparities between skin color and race categories. It upends easy corroleries of skin color to race in the American racial imagination. We also see that over a third of the population identifies as “Other” suggesting that they do not see a race category in the U.S. Census that makes sense for them. Noteworthy, from the standpoint of skin color, is the “other” category contains the most diverse spectrum of gradient. 

The Caraballo-Gueto/Godreau study was conducted as a phone survey as part of the annual U.S. health survey in Puerto Rico. Participants were asked how they see their skin color on a scale of 1-6. Given the highly subjective nature of  identification on a color scale we chose to use a gradient to represent the skin color scale. The heavy blood red lines that divide the information highlight the fraught real world dynamics of racism and colorism that happen along these divides.

DISTRIBUTION OF BLACK AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES | This a simple, but effective visualization shows where Black people live in the U.S. and its territories. Like a starry night,  sparkling colored hexagons sit against the black background like jewels in a velvet box. The viewer reads the data with the brightest and biggest shapes representing higher density populations and the smaller dimmer twinkles representing lower density populations. 

BLACK ELECTED OFFICIALS REPRESENTING BROOKLYN | The first half decade of the 21st century has ushered in an increase of Black elected officials in Brooklyn. As Eric Adams mayoral first term comes to a close, he is only the second Black Mayor of NYC; preceding David Dinkins over 30 years ago. In times past, as we go down the ballot across the boroughs one can find Black officials; many firsts to hold seats. For Brooklyn, the example of Shirley Chisolm looms large and we see how her legacy and energy has flourished in 21st century Brooklyn. Brooklyn has perhaps the largest Black population in NYC and it goes to follow it is one of the highest in number of Black elected officials. We reproduce this phenomena as a sample ballot that has been filled out and ready to be submitted. The silvery graphite scribble in the head count representing each Black official in the various categories of seats across federal, state and local government that represent Brooklyn.