Dismantling the logics of eugenisc via emanipatory data science education

Statistics, including Data Science, originates from eugenicist roots. Galton, Pearson, and Fisher—known as the 'founding fathers' of statistics—were also eugenicists. The rise of eugenics coincided with legalized mass sterilization efforts across Europe and 27 U.S. states between 1907 and 1931, targeting criminals, individuals with epilepsy, and the “feebleminded.” Statistics, driven by the political agenda of its founders, was the primary tool used to advance the eugenics discipline. Although some scholars in statistics and data science education have worked to identify and expose these eugenics origins, less is known about those who resisted this ideology. Using counter-racial archival analysis, we uncover the work of those who utilized data and statistics to counter these dehumanizing ideologies, by uplifting those targeted.