Led by the Digital Sovereignty Coalition (DSC), founded in 2025 by Everett N. Kelsey, Jr., inspired by the legacy of Dr. George D. Kelsey and the moral urgency of our time.

The Digital Civil Rights Movement is a 21st-century continuation of the fight for dignity, equity, and freedom — adapted for an era where algorithms, biometric scans, and digital platforms increasingly shape how we live, learn, and participate in society.
 

Just as the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s challenged segregation and barriers to full civic participation, today’s movement addresses:

• Algorithmic bias and exclusion
• Surveillance that undermines privacy and autonomy
• Data extraction without consent
• The concentration of technological power without democratic oversight

At its core, the Digital Civil Rights Movement is about ensuring that technology strengthens, rather than weakens, democratic life.

The ethical foundation of this movement draws from Dr. George D. Kelsey, Everett Kelsey’s grandfather. Dr. Kelsey — a theologian, philosopher, and educator — profoundly influenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., teaching that racism was not only a political problem but a moral failing that violated the dignity of humanity.
 

Everett carries forward this moral framework — but in the context of today’s challenges: ensuring that digital systems honor human dignity, equity, and the public good.

In today’s digital society, technology is not neutral. Without safeguards, it can amplify inequities, erode civil liberties, and concentrate decision-making power in the hands of a few. The urgency is clear:

• Predictive systems already affect access to housing, employment, and education
• Communities are increasingly subject to surveillance marketed as “efficiency”
• Democratic spaces are being replaced by platforms that prioritize profit over civic participation

The Digital Sovereignty Coalition was founded to meet this moment: to ensure the public has tools, knowledge, and voice in shaping a digital future that serves all people.

The DSC is not a think tank or a lobbying group. It is a civic coalition that stewards open, public-benefit infrastructure and educational programs so that citizens, institutions, and communities can navigate the digital age with agency.
 

Examples of initiatives include:

• Civic Commons: a cooperative digital headquarters that enables communities and institutions to coordinate and deliberate transparently.
• Data Commons: community-owned data resources governed with consent and equity at the center.
• Open-Source Civic Tools: digital town halls, participatory budgeting, and civic audit systems.
• Educational Pilots: programs in libraries, schools, and community organizations that build digital rights literacy.

The Digital Civil Rights Movement is not about partisanship or profit. It is about building civic capacity and protecting civil liberties in a rapidly changing digital environment.
 

It calls on:

• Technologists to design with equity
• Educators and cultural leaders to cultivate digital literacy
• Municipalities and civic institutions to adopt accountable digital practices
• Everyday citizens to reclaim agency in the technologies they use daily

DSC commits to stewarding this movement as nonprofit, mission-driven infrastructure — transparent, participatory, and open.
 

We will not:

• Commercialize civic data for private profit
• Promote partisan or electoral agendas
• Concentrate ownership of civic infrastructure in private hands

Instead, we will:

• Build public trust
• Amplify diverse voices
• Ensure technology serves the people

The Digital Civil Rights Movement is not a metaphor — it is a necessary response to the realities of our time. Just as earlier generations fought for freedom and dignity in public life, this generation must secure those same values in digital life.
 

The Digital Sovereignty Coalition invites communities, institutions, and individuals to join us in building this future together: pluralist, equitable, and democratic.

“We are not just building tech. We are building freedom. This is our moment. Our march is digital. Our signs are made of data. Our battlefield is invisible. But our mission is timeless: To protect the soul of democracy. To preserve the dignity of all people. And to ensure that technology serves humanity—not the other way around." — Everett N. Kelsey Jr., 2025