Frequently Asked Questions

The questions we get asked most — answered plainly, with a link to the longer version wherever one exists.

What is CultureTechLens?

CultureTechLens is Chicago’s Black cultural intelligence platform, curating the intersection of history, athletics, music, and technology through a lens of cultural preservation and analysis. The slogan is the method: “Culture, Clearly Seen.”

Is CultureTechLens a nonprofit?

Yes. CultureTechLens NFP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 39-3143901), incorporated in Illinois in 2025 and based in Chicago. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent the law allows.

What is the CTL 10 Index?

The CTL 10 is our monthly ranking of Black cultural resonance — ten subjects in a rotating category, scored on evidence depth plus public attention by a published, reproducible method. Read the methodology, then browse the editions.

What is the Clear Ear Award?

Our annual music award: the year’s essential Black music, reviewed with a critical ear and scored on the record, not the hype. See the 2026 shortlist and reviews.

How is your research graded?

Every claim we publish carries one of five evidence grades: VERIFIED (confirmed by strong sources), SUPPORTED (good evidence, minor gaps), PROVISIONAL (early or single-source), DISPUTED (sources disagree — both sides shown), or UNRESOLVED (we could not settle it, and we say so). The grades travel with the data everywhere it appears.

Where does the research come from?

Structured research packages — entities, claims, timelines, sources — built claim by claim and red-teamed before publication. Start at the research hub or browse the knowledge graph (1,441 entities and counting).

How do I cite CultureTechLens?

See How to Cite Us for Chicago, APA, and MLA formats — plus the one-line boilerplate journalists and funders ask for.

Can I reuse your photos?

It depends on the image. Every photo on the site is credited where it appears; our licensing page explains how to request reuse and what the required credit lines are.

Is the archive free to use?

The public archive is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it, cite it, build on it. For bulk data extracts or commercial licensing, contact [email protected].

Who runs CultureTechLens?

William Maxey, President and founder — he describes himself as a “Cultural Knowledge Architect.” More at the founder page.

How can I support the work?

Donate to keep the archive open, or volunteer your skills — research, transcription, photography, translation, outreach. A membership program is on the way.

How do I contact you?

Email [email protected] or use the contact form. Press inquiries: see the press kit.

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Frequently Asked Questions,” 2026-10-05.

Source: CultureTechLens

From the Archive

The archive in pictures

The people, places, and institutions this work documents. Photographs from the CultureTechLens research record — rights-cleared, credited, and cited like everything else here.

The Chess Records studio booth during restoration, ChicagoPhoto: get directly down, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ida B. Wells — portrait from ‘Women of Distinction’ (1893)Photo: Public Domain (from ‘Women of Distinction,’ 1893), via Wikimedia Commons

Jacking up a car on the repair tracks at an Illinois Central Railroad yard, Chicago, Chicago, 1942Photo: Jack Delano, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

Trust & evidence

Evidence before authority. CultureTechLens publishes its methods, its limits, and its corrections alongside its findings. Claims carry grades — VERIFIED, SUPPORTED, PROVISIONAL, DISPUTED, UNRESOLVED — and unknowns are never reported as zero.

Every claim graded. Every source named. Every correction public — none to date.