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About Black Zephyr, Inc
Black Zephyr, Inc infuses narrative strategy, DEI, storytelling, AI & Ethics, and Afrofuturism as frameworks to achieve racial equity and regenerative futures for Black and other minoritized populations in the USA. Led by me, Dr. A. Breeze Harper, Black Zephyr has several services:
AI Ethics, Bias Mitigation, and Risk Management:
During Dr. Harper's time at Harvard University, she delved deep into how biases—whether racial, gender-based, or otherwise—can infiltrate supposedly objective technologies. Her Master's thesis earned her the Dean’s Award, which focused on how biases manifests in educational technologies and their broader implications. This concern for ethics and human rights in tech has guided her career, particularly in ensuring that the integration of new technologies includes a robust framework for equity, inclusion, and bias mitigation. We offer:
1. Leadership training on how unconscious bias impact AI use, planning, and integration.
2. Consulting and training to mitigate biases & other risks can negatively impact the outcomes of AI services and products.
3. Ethical AI audits that can show potentially negative outcomes of improper use, development, and/or implementation of AI and other technologies.
4. Better recruitment, hiring, and retention strategies for underrepresented populations within AI and similar technologies.
5. Advisory to handle ethics and governance of AI.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Accountability (DEIA) Consulting. This consulting and educational service is anchored in narrative strategy, accountability metrics, social science research, and of course Afrofuturism. We offer DEIA climate surveys, audits, workshops, facilitation, and coaching services to organizations focused on justice and equity for Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, particularly around:
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Food/Nutrition
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Land/Farming
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Climate Change
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Environmental Sustainability
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Advocacy for Reparations
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Racial Equity and AI Futures
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Research and Reporting. I create/co-create publications that show impediments as well as best practices for equitable Black futures. We focus on:
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Black owned or led AI Technology organizations or companies.
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Black owned or led plant-based (or vegan) and climate justice oriented organizations.
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Black stewarded farms or agricultural spaces centering regenerative cultivation (i.e. permaculture) and justice.
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Organizations that may not be Black led, but are still dedicated to just and equitable futures for other minoritized populations impacted by systemic racism, as well as other oppressive systems and structures. Check out an example of my work with FoodFirst! I researched and co-wrote the report Dismantling Racism in the Food System .
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Public Events and Workshops. Dr. Harper delivers lectures, conferences, and workshops using Afrofuturism as a framework for racial equity, AI, climate activism, food justice, and reparative justice. Butler University, Evergreen State College, UC Santa Cruz, and Sacramento City College have been some of her clients. She has delivered over 70+ keynote talks and workshops.
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Black Zephyr Catalyst Press. Black Zephyr Catalyst Press is a press for Black women/femmes/non-binary authors who employ Afrofuturism for liberation, equity, and justice. This venture not only publishes manuscripts; it facilitates workshops, coaching, retreats, etc., for Black writers who are change catalysts and movement builders. The novel Seeds of Sankofa will be the first published book from this press. This Afrofuturism novel explores Black equity, agtech, Ai, and sustainability through the lenses of the soil microbiome, farming, nutrition, and land. The novel will be completed by end of 2026.
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We invite you to listen to Dr. Harper's illuminating keynote address for Sacramento City College's Global Studies Event from 2022:
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