Anti-Racism • Technology • Justice
Erykah Noelle Benson | PhD Student Researcher at the University of Michigan Department of Sociology
In the past few decades, the platform economy has shaped how people work, play, buy and sell things, and connect with others. It is important to study how the platform economy is growing, especially from a perspective that considers how racism shapes these dynamics. I research how people understand and experience these online interactions in relation to work and consumerism.
Population Research on Attitudes Toward Reparations
Online Community-Building Among Black Creatives
Published Reports
U-M Center for Racial Justice
Using survey-based quantitative analysis, I write reports about perceptions of racial and economic inequality through the U-M Center for Racial Justice and regularly communicate findings to news media outlets. These reports are publicly accessible through the University of Michigan.
October 2023 Issue Brief
A survey report analyzing support for reparations, including support toward individual and systemic-level amends for Black Americans, among residents in Flint, Michigan.
A majority of Black Flint residents, the intended beneficiaries of the reparations policies under consideration, support cash payments (73%). However, an even greater proportion of Black residents (78%) support reparations in the form of financial assistance for buying or improving a home, financial support for postsecondary education (77%), or financial support for Black businesses (75%).
March 2023 Issue Brief
This survey report analyzes the relationship between an individual's support for reparations and their recognition of historic and ongoing harms against Black Americans among residents in the City of Detroit.
November 2022 Issue Brief
A survey report that explores the potential impact of an electoral candidate's support for reparations on voter turnout in the City of Detroit.
U-M Detroit Metro Area Communities Study
May 2022 Issue Brief
A survey report exploring self-reported financial well-being among Detroit residents two years after the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of housing, utility costs, healthcare, and more.