Don't trust the search engine, try the library instead

In 10 years, there might not be a trace of "Black Lives Matter," Michael Brown, Freddie Gray or Trayvon Martin, if one depends on the most popular search engines and online platforms.

We've been conditioned to believe in the mathematical formulas that power these sites, but these formulas are created by people.  Twelve years ago, my younger brother, Sidney, died while in police custody.  It was several days after the funeral for President Reagan, and got similar coverage in the newspapers in North Carolina.

When a New York radio reporter called me to inquire about the case, it was amazing how difficult it was to find those stories online.  I'd lived through the experience, which has become so common, but there was hardly any trace of it.

I turned to the public library in my home town, which I remember desegregating back in the summer of 1967 when I was 12.  (I walked a mile every day that summer to get there when the library opened and stayed until it closed, trying to read every book in the building.) Within an hour, a librarian found the articles and sent me a digital copy.

A couple of months after Sidney's death, I launched National Black Business Month with Frederick E. Jordan because of the same issue.  We found that the 800,000 black-owned businesses were invisible because their accomplishments were not covered by the largest media.  Out of five million photos, the New York Times didn't have a single one of Dr. W.E.B. DuBois.  Digital platforms then use those media as their sources.  But there is also subjectivity involved.  Certain topics also get deleted through the preferences of the non-diverse workforces who get hired in these non-transparent operations.

Bloomberg recently wrote about how Amazon deleted every African-American neighborhood in the country from its fastest delivery option;  AirBnb has been cited for discrimination against African-American travelers; Google's image finder can't distinguish between African-Americans and apes and while writing my book Say Grace and Wipe Yo' Hands: BlackRestaurant.NET Guide to America's Black Restaurants, I discovered that most black restaurants are not listed on the food sites.

One can't count on the results from those sites.  What turns up is not an authentic search through all records, but the result of "key word" auctions occurring in milliseconds in which certain advertisers are seeking to find out about your consumer behavior.   If you're searching for the Underground Railroad, you might also get links to rail vacations in Europe, before you find what you're looking for.

I recently had to go to my local district attorney when I noticed that search queries on my name were going to a third party site which I had no connection to, invoking false advertising and unfair competition laws.  When the assistant DA called the offending party, they said they had simply bought my name as a "key word."  Take note, that's illegal under what's known as right of publicity laws. You have complete control over the use of your name for 72 years after your death.

Convenience is alluring, particularly for those of us who attended school when we had to rely on index cards and key punch.  But, if you want to be certain, make sure you don't forget how to use your library!