Math is Power: "Counted Out" Documentary Sparks Movement for Math Literacy

Math shapes every part of our lives—from the news we see to the elections we vote in and the jobs we get. Yet, few of us fully understand how math influences society.

The Cambridge STEAM Initiative partners with the Cambridge Public Schools’ Math Department on initiatives that focus on math as a civil right. As part of this collaboration, the STEAM Initiative has hosted screenings of Counted Out, a documentary exploring how inequitable access to math literacy impacts issues such as political division, social and economic inequalities, and climate change. 

The film argues that understanding math is key to gaining power and driving change in society. It also honors civil rights leader and late Cambridge resident, Bob Moses, who saw math education as a crucial civil rights issue.

In January, the STEAM Initiative and CPS co-hosted a screening of this film for 5-12th grade math teachers, interventionists, and coaches. In February, over 75 Cambridge Out-of-School Time educators attended an event to watch the film and left inspired to join a movement for greater math literacy. 

In July, we engaged with Cambridge teens in this work through a screening of the film in collaboration with Cambridge Youth Programs, the Young People’s Project, and the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program.  Over 100 young people attended the film and joined a reflective conversation about their own math identities, their experiences as math learners in the classroom, and brainstormed ways that our schools and community can provide different on-ramps to math learning.  

We encourage you to learn more about Bob Moses’ legacy and join the movement for math literacy!

Photo Caption: Civil rights leader Bob Moses, right, talks with students in a scene from the documentary Counted Out, directed by Vicki Abeles