Connecting Lives is an app that allows black people to register, through depositions in the format of texts, audios, videos or photographs, moments in which they suffered from racism and how those situations affected their lives.

According to Simon Baron-Cohen’s The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelt, the process of empathy depends on three areas in the brain: the first is responsible for facial recognition, as well as emotions expressed by other people; the second is responsible for mirroring those emotions in ourselves; finally, the third is the center of character, which makes a connection between the other two areas. Thus, a problem in any one of them compromises empathy. Authors such as Susan Fiske and Viktor Frankel also worked on the study of empathy, developing a theory that in addition to these three areas there is a region that is aimed primarily at objects, but that may recognize certain groups of people, which are objectified by that individual. Finally, Philip Zimbargo further developed the discussion, adding the concept of functional illiteracy, according to which certain people would not be able to be empathetic towards certain groups due to an inability to recognize and mirror their emotions, analyzing these groups in the area of ​​the brain dedicated to objects. In this context, Zimbargo proposed a process of emotional literacy, which would serve to teach people to recognize and mirror the emotions of different groups and thus be empathetic towards these people. In the article “Stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination at the seam between the centuries: evolution, culture, mind, and brain. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 299-322 ”, Susan Fiske addressed how people can reduce differences within their own social circles and increase distinctions between their group and others, in a process that generalizes the defects of those who are different, devaluing them and contributing to their objectification. These multiple studies allow us to perceive the importance of acknowledging the stories of black people who are victims of racism stories so that, by means of the feeling of empathy developed between people, the social abyss subsequent to racial differences is reduced and, therefore, people can work together in devising solutions for a world that is more just for all.

The concept behing Connecting Lives is that the user will be able to send their story and decide with whom he wishes to share it in a simple and interactive way. They will be able to decide if the deposition will be made public, in which case it can be shared by other users in the platform, or if only people with whom they chose to connect via the platform will have access to it. It will also be possible to make depositions anonymously. Those that search for depositions will be able to view the public content available or send a standardized message requesting access to the content of a specific user. Additionally, the app will allow a filtering of the depositions according to the locality in which a given incident happened, year of registry, name of the author or privacy status of the content (public or private). All users will be required to register a brief biography describing what type of content they intend to share on their profile and what are their objectives in the platform (only sharing depositions, only viewing depositions or both). Also, based on data requested for registration on the platform (ethnicity, age, profession, nationality, and location) as well as browsing data (kind of depositions most accessed and shared), the app will be able to suggest profiles that might interest the user.

Furthermore, the app will allow users to make donations to NGOs and movements that support black people and will include monthly lists of books, articles and diverse digital contents so that interested users can educate themselves on black culture and antiracist practices. Through the information inserted on the platform and the behavior of users, it will also be possible to analyze and use data from a certain region for devising public policies that promote an increase of engagement in support of black people, improving social relationships within the local community.

In essence, we believe that that which takes us out of our comfort zone is also what makes us better human beings. For that reason, as somber as it may be, the past must not be forgotten. On the contrary - it must be registered, analyzed, and remembered so that historical injustices are not repeated, and wrongdoings are atoned. Therefore, the objective that drives this project is to propel the transformational power inherent to the scrutiny of social issues through different perspectives, through the connection of lives, so that humanity trails a path of construction of a more equanimous future towards the next generations.