Identifying and overcoming racially discriminatory processes in US society asks for a research approach that incorporates a variety of perspectives. In this micro-chat, Chris Hays and Erin Walk discuss how the MIT Initiative on Combatting Systemic Racism (ICSR) combines data science with the extensive social science literature on systemic racism to develop and harness computational tools that can help effect structural and normative change towards racial equity. We will talk about the role that algorithms play in the proliferation of extremism online – be it white nationalism or other toxic social phenomena - and how it affects online and offline behavior.