Alexis Williams: An Activist Fighting for Change Through Code
In 2017, a movie—Hidden Figures—about three Black women behind one of NASA’s most pivotal operations was released into theaters. The film centers around Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, three extraordinary mathematicians who used their skills to help restore confidence in the nation and help the United States win the Space Race.
The same year, Alexis Williams, who was in the middle of her high school career, watched Hidden Figures for the first time and recalls, “I was walking out of that movie theater thinking, ‘OK, I can do this.’”
Alexis is now 19 years old, a student at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering studying computer science. With her dedication to activism, which lies at the unique intersection of technology and social justice, she has also accumulated a following on TikTok.
“Activism looks like a lot of different things. It's not just going out and protesting, it's not just posting about it on social media, it's using any medium to talk about the things that are important to you.”
After the death of George Floyd and as the Black Lives Matter movement reentered center spotlight, Alexis explains to me that she felt the need to do something, “Activism looks like a lot of different things. It's not just going out and protesting, it's not just posting about it on social media, it's using any medium to talk about the things that are important to you,” and Alexis did just that.
She coded a Black Lives Matter toolkit called PB Resources (Police Brutality Resources). It includes “cheat sheets” with subcategories such as allyship, environmental racism, and defund the police with relevant links to articles explaining the issue. She links nonprofits, bail funds, petitions, Black businesses to support, tips for protestors, and educational media on antiracism, ranging from books to podcasts to literature. Alexis even coded a generator that writes emails to make it easier for people to directly demand change from their state and city officials.
Alexis’s plan is to use her skills in coding to intensify her energy and passion for activism. She hopes that technology becomes more empathetic and encompasses a more diverse audience, “The way that our technology is built is geared towards the people that make it. If you have a room of white people creating your technology, it's built with [that] culture in mind, and the way that affluent white people would use that resource. My only hope is that we can just start creating more technology that is more inclusive of different identities, and not just [prioritizing] the success of white people.”
As not only a creator of digital platforms but also a user, Alexis leverages social media to reach more people. She sees her presence on social media as an extension of herself, “I feel like I am doing what I normally would be, but more people are looking now.” With this, Alexis feels the need to take the time to reflect how she can create change both online and offline. She explains that online activism should not end with posting a black square on your Instagram, “If you're going to post about it... you can't just say, ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and then log out.” Alexis advises that people who are not part of the Black community can link to resources, experts, or creators in the community to amplify Black voices on their platforms. “It's about being actionable, and hopefully persuading others to realize, ‘Hey, this is important!’” On the direction of social media activism, Alexis believes that there are groups heading in an “actionable” direction with meaningful intentions, but she also thinks there are other avenues of social media activism that are “disrespectful.” Alexis is looking for people to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
Alexis’s formal introduction into the world of tech was through Kode with Klossy, a program started by supermodel and entrepreneur Karlie Kloss, which teaches young women foundational computer science skills to help them achieve their dreams and fuel their passions. Here, Alexis met many other young women who wanted to use their skills to empower the communities they are a part of.
Alexis was able to find an outlet in computer science and hopes to give other young women some inspiration. Alexis says that she feels a bit alienated in the STEM world, “I was really nervous about claiming to be a software developer—or anything within STEM or computer science—because I kind of look crazy. I would walk into all my classes in crazy outfits and I'd have teachers that would laugh at me.” Alexis explains that there were moments where she would feel like she couldn’t succeed because she felt undermined by some of the teachers in the STEM field. However, she knows that there are so many other people that go through a similar situation. STEM is dominated by white men, “It’s hard to imagine [people who look like me following] in those footsteps. Like these guys—Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Steve Jobs—have the luxury to drop out of college, buy a computer, and start doing stuff. And their parents didn’t murder them.” Whenever Alexis would feel intimidated or a little lost, all it took was a small trip down memory lane, to those moments after watching Hidden Figures and looking to her role models to remind herself, “They did it. I can do it, too.”
Alexis explains that as an Afro-Latina, queer woman, it doesn’t make any sense for her to use her coding skills for anything other than social good. Alexis wants to be a leading figure for the young women like her and help pave the path as Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson and Katherine Johnson, the mathematicians on NASA’s team, did for her.
“When you're young, it's hard to think about life as anything other than a formula. You do this, do that, and do that. Only when you grow up, when you’re a little bit older, do you realize that you can do whatever you want. There are some limitations in that, but you can kind of do whatever you want.”
While Alexis is helping pave the way for so many women and tech activists, she’s still only nineteen. She’s struggling—like other teens—to navigate life and still figuring out who she is and who she wants to be, “When you're young, it's hard to think about life as anything other than a formula. You do this, do that, and do that. Only when you grow up, when you’re a little bit older, do you realize that you can do whatever you want. There are some limitations in that, but you can kind of do whatever you want.”
She’s currently binge-watching Girlfriends and looks up to Karlie Kloss and Elaine Welteroth—and if they were one person, they would be her ultimate idol. Alexis is even working on a “top secret” project with a female-dominated team that is “bigger than herself.” She also has a podcast called Clueless with Alexis where she talks about anything and everything, from conversations about what it’s like to be young in today’s world to discussions about political reform to just an informal chat about her day.
Alexis, like a lot of Gen Z, is fueled to break the rules and positively change the world. Whether it’s through TikTok, fashion, code, or social media, Alexis is constantly finding new ways to apply her passions to combat oppression, discrimination, and other issues.
STORY MEGHANA PATNANA
PHOTOS ANNA ZHANG