Black Data Stories Matter
Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series
Dr. Kenton Rambsy; Howard University
Black Data Stories Matter
Many African American storytellers have work that contains a multitude of reference points, which scholars have long examined through close reading and historical interpretation. Yet, new questions emerge when we also examine the numerical patterns, circulation histories, and cultural data that shape how Black writers are read, taught, and remembered. In this presentation, Dr. Kenton Rambsy explains how data storytelling can expand the study of Black writers and other topics across Black Studies. As a data storytelling specialist, Rambsy equips students with tools to analyze datasets and transform them into visual narratives about Black cultural history. Grounded in CADSA’s social justice mission, this approach demonstrates how combining data analysis with Black Studies creates new ways to document, interpret, and share the stories embedded in Black cultural and intellectual life.
About Dr. Kenton Rambsy:
Kenton Rambsy is a literary scholar whose work bridges African American literature and data science. He is an Associate Professor of English at Howard University and a data storytelling specialist with the Center for Applied Data Science and Analytics. Rambsy uses data analysis and visualization to examine patterns across Black literature and Black Studies broadly. He leads the Black Data Lab, where students and collaborators build datasets and create public visualizations about African American literary history. He is the author of The Geographies of African American Short Stories (2022). His forthcoming book One Black Writer at a Time, co-authored with his brother Howard Rambsy II, will be published by Bloomsbury in September 2026.
Dr. Rambsy is consulting with Dr. Sindiso Mnisi Weeks, UMass Associate Professor in Political Science and Legal Studies (Faculty Family Research Scholar 2026)