Dear Glen,
Thank you, Glen! Thank you for your reply and for all that you have done
already, especially your reply to the Muslim ban. It is affirming to me
(and surely others) that you have already begun work on this and are
offering next steps. For those of you who (also) do not deeply take in the
presidential missives of the AAG (I can see Mona nodding at me in my mind's
eye on this matter), I am posting an excerpt of Glen's full blog post
<http://news.aag.org/2017/01/creating-and-preserving-actionable-and-policy-relevant-geography/>
at the end of this message in which our letter advocated many of his ideas.
Thank you to entire Executive Committee for leading the AAG in these times.
As a reminder, the heart of this bill is not simply some issue of access to
data or a discussion of science, as Sharlene Mollett thoughtfully pointed
out on the GeogFem list. This bill is totally and absolutely racist and
anti-poor. If passed, it would further the oppression of minorities by not
only ignoring them but completely invisibilizing them. And it is with data
and with the knowledge we create from our analysis of it that we can fight
for justice. The data are a means to an end. The focus is resisting
oppression and violence, and supporting and enacting social justice through
the actionable policy Glen mentions below.
To remind folks of further actions suggested in our previous letter, please
share the contents and repercussions of this bill with scholars in other
fields, activists, and journalists. Also, please share your expertise and
thoughts via social media. For those of you who would like to enter or even
understand the world of Twitter, I highly recommend
microbiologist/zoologist Jojo Scoble's simple and thoughtful "Twitter for
Academics."
<https://onlineacademic.wordpress.com/social-media-for-academics/twitter-for-academics/>The
#datarefuge hashtag <https://twitter.com/hashtag/datarefuge?lang=en> is
drawing more and more use by the day, and, also note the #PresidentAAG
hashtag Glen uses below, as well as @theAAG account directly.
Best regards,
Jack
*Excerpt from Glen MacDonald's "Creating and Preserving Actionable and
Policy Relevant Geography"
<http://news.aag.org/2017/01/creating-and-preserving-actionable-and-policy-relevant-geography/>
published Jan. 29th, 2017*
... Not only would the creation of new Federal geospatial databases on
racial disparities be prohibited, so too would access to existing
geospatial information of this sort and the use of Federal funds from
agencies such as the National Science Foundation to study such data. As
written, this represents a direct attack on the ability of geographers and
others to produce actionable and policy relevant research on racial
disparities in this country. What then can be done about the threat posed
by S.103 and H.R. 482 to geospatial and geographical information and
research? The AAG has already drafted and sent a letter of concern to
Senator Lee. However, I would suggest more needs be done by our members
directly. First, spread the word to geographers, other scholars and the
public about the threat posed by S.103 and H.R. 482. Second, take a moment
to contact your Federal Senators and representative – easily done via
https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials. Third, you may want to also contact
the Bill’s sponsors with your concerns. Finally, stay aware, informed and
communicative of similar threats to geospatial information or geographical
research that may arise in the future. We may well be entering an era when
not only has the need to create actionable and policy relevant geography
never been more pressing, but the fight to preserve our ability to conduct
such research never more necessary.
Join the conversation on Twitter #PresidentAAG.
--
Jen Jack Gieseking
Assistant Professor of Public Humanities
American Studies, Trinity College
@jgieseking
jgieseking.org
peopleplacespace.org
>>sent on the go
On Feb 1, 2017, at 12:17 AM, Glen MacDonald <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Thanks Jack!
Please take a look at my February AAG President’s Column
which takes aim at these bills and suggests some actions folks can take.
http://news.aag.org/2017/01/creating-and-preserving-actionab
le-and-policy-relevant-geography/
The AAG has also already sent a letter of protest to the
bills’ senate authors.
Cheers,
Glen
*From:* Jack Jen Gieseking [mailto:[log in to unmask]
<[log in to unmask]>]
*Sent:* Tuesday, January 31, 2017 8:11 PM
*To:* Discussion list for Feminism in Geography; Discussion list on
participatory geographies; revisitingcriticalgis; [log in to unmask];
Urban Geography Discussion and Announcement Forum; sxsgeog; Glen MacDonald;
[log in to unmask]; Sarah Bednarz; [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask];
Douglas Richardson; David Coronado; [log in to unmask]
*Subject:* FYI: HR 482 and SB 103 - attack on geospatial information,
antiracism work, and affordable housing
Dear Geographers,
We are writing to bring your attention to the US HR 482 and SB 103, which
are an attack on the collection, storage, and distribution of geospatial
information, antiracism work, and affordable housing (see below). The text
of the bill
<https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/482/text?r=117>,
“Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017,” will nullify HUD's 2015
“Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” report to "have no force or
effect," and does so by eliminating the data to support social change.
In other words, the bill stands at odds with the pursuit of knowledge about
human geography, including census data. The bill would prohibit a
significant amount of the work we do on race, racism, and fair housing in
the US, as well as GIS research more broadly, all of which thwart work
towards social justice. A key section reads as follows:
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal funds may be used to
design, build, maintain, utilize, or provide access to a Federal database
of geospatial information on community racial disparities or disparities in
access to affordable housing.
We encourage feedback, wisdom, and action among our respective lists, AAG
specialty groups, other collectives and collegial relationships, and the
AAG leadership. We ask you to share word about this bill with colleagues in
other disciplines and on social media, using the hashtags #datarefuge and
#datarescue when doing so to connect this issue to larger issues of public
data and public data collection erasure, obfuscation, and elimination. We
also encourage US citizens to reach out to your congressional
representatives or to organize from afar in solidarity to stop this bill.
Full links to the Senate and House bills are below.
Thanks to Euan Hague for bringing this to the CRIT-GEOG list's attention,
and for Reed Underwood's response.
Onward together,
Jack Gieseking, Trinity College
Emily Mitchell-Eaton, USCS
Hector Agredano, CUNY Graduate Center
Elizabeth R. Johnson, Hobart & William Smith Colleges
Naomi Adiv, Portland State University
Ryan Burns, University of Calgary
Senate Bill 103: https://www.congress.gov/bill/
115th-congress/senate-bill/103/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%
22S103%22%5D%7D&r=1
House Bill 482: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/482/
text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22HR482%22%5D%7D&r=1
--
Jen Jack Gieseking
Assistant Professor of Public Humanities
American Studies Program, Trinity College
300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106
www.jgieseking.org
www.peopleplacespace.org
@jgieseking <https://twitter.com/jgieseking>
