Anti-Racism β’ Technology β’Β Justice
Erykah Noelle Benson | PhD Student Researcher at the University of Michigan Department of Sociology
Active Research Projects
Erykah and a participant, Elle, chatting on Zoom.
Illustration by ELOI.Β
Black Creatives in the Online Gig Economy
This project explores the experiences of Black creatives who sell original products on platforms like Etsy, Shopify, TikTok, and Instagram. This project aims to study:
Β How Black creatives navigate their racial identity in relation to their work.Β
How Black small business owners navigate the challenges and opportunities they encounter in their work.
Participants receive a $35 payment for their participation in a 1.5 hour interview.Β
This project is supported by the National Center for Institutional Diversity.Β
Interested in Particpating in this Study?
[Mural Credits to Eastern Market Detroit]
Mapping and Measuring the Digital Food Divide
This project uses survey data from the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study to look at differences in residents' satisfaction with their access to neighborhood resources (such as retail options and transportation) related to their usage of online grocery delivery. The rise of the grocery and food delivery industry has the potential to help people overcome challenges to consistent, convenient, and varied access to food. This project investigates potential inequalities in usage and satisfaction with food/grocery delivery services in three Michigan cities: Ypsilanti, Flint, and Detroit.Β
This project is supported by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, the U-M Population Studies Center, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.Β
Racialized Attitudes Toward Reparations
I collaborate as a research fellow with the Detroit Metro Area Communities Study and the Center for Racial Justice to explore Michigan residents' support for reparations for Black Americans. My work on this topic has appeared on multiple platforms, including The Detroit Free Press, Bridge Detroit, and CBS News Detroit.Β
This work is supported by the Ford School Center for Racial Justice.Β