From Memes, gifs, dances that go viral, and tweets—Black innovation and creativity have a significant impact on pop culture and mainstream trends. It’s Black creativity that sets cultural trends yet our innovation is constantly exploited. Earlier this month, Black Tiktokers went on strike refusing to make new dance content as their dances were ripped off and copied without recognition or compensation for their creativity. Can NFTs be the tech that enables the Black community to receive appropriate financial compensation for the work they create? This article will showcase how some Black
Flatiron Health is hiring! Changing careers is never easy. When Richard Chounoune left a six-figure income to pursue a career in tech as a software engineer, he initially had a hard time adjusting to his new industry. Today, Richard works at Flatiron Health, a healthtech company, as a recently promoted software engineer. Here he shares his experiences as a young immigrant from Haiti who felt stuck at a dead-end job and mustered the courage to pursue a passion for programming. From Selling Cars to Software Development Richard arrived in the
Techish is back with a brand new episode! Abadesi and Michael discuss an interesting development in the NFT space. Jay Z is suing Damon Dash over his attempted sale of ‘Reasonable Doubt’ as an NFT. Are we looking at NFT wars being a thing in the future? (19:35) They also break down: T-Pain talks about mental health, autotune, and Usher comments (0:11) Lina Khan, the new chair of FTC, reviews Amazon proposed deal to buy MGM (5:18) The new wave of consumer investing and meme stocks (12:40) Airbnb’s ‘Smart Pricing’ algorithm fail and a convo
What’s happening? Black content creators are tired. Tired of having their content on Instagram, Youtube, and Tiktok generate millions for the platforms—yet receiving little to no recognition, attribution, and of course, adequate financial compensation. So while white TikTokers receive national attention and praise for dance trends, the Black creators of these viral dances are ignored. The community often takes to Twitter to call out the many instances where original creators of viral dances, many of whom are Black, receive no credit. This is not a new problem Jimmy Fallon invited white TikToker,
You’ve likely noticed by now that the world has finally decided to amplify a long, on-going conversation about racism — at least for the moment. In the US, underpinning the headlines about policing and excessive use of force on Black and Brown bodies is the conversation about how systemic power disparities affect the Black community. As a Black, gay man from the South, I live this conversation. As a Black designer, I see my lived experience reflected in the perpetuation and preservation of white supremacy across the design field, both
It’s New Year’s Eve 2020, and I’m sure we are all thinking the same thing: “Thank you; next”. Seriously, what a year; but, onwards and upwards. On a personal note, 2020 has been a uniquely challenging, yet incredibly meaningful year for my career — launching Google’s first Accelerator programs for both women founders and Black founders. Running a program for Black entrepreneurs as a member of the Black community myself, I was more in a rhythm than I’ve ever felt professionally. It was comfortable, natural, and authentic to be able to support black entrepreneurship — not to
In the tech industry, less than 5% of the workforce is African-American, and we know the tech sector has a long way to go in fixing diversity issues. The following list is a short intro to just some of the Black product designers who are flourishing in Silicon Valley, the corporate world, and beyond. They are creating incredible experiences, and invaluable products, and are supporting the next generation of designers. Mariam Braimah Mariam is a product designer at Netflix. She is also the founder of Kimoyo Fellowship, a design program teaching the
Greenhouse is hiring! Check out their roles here Wayne Titus has had an unconventional path into his current career. He began his professional journey as a comparative literature student at Yale University, with a burning desire to help people. He now finds himself doing just that, but in the most unexpected field: Tech. Today, Titus works as the Manager of the Enterprise Practice at Greenhouse Software. He has built a team that works to ensure the company’s onboarding clients get the best possible experience. He uses his unique perspective and
As a Black designer working in predominately white spaces, I have to think about how I show up in my professional environment. I make sure my tone is friendly. Non-threatening. I edit my speech so that others won’t doubt my intelligence. I am mindful of my brightly colored locs and try to dress in a way that signals I am a professional. I didn’t realize it for a long time, but I designed a different version of my Blackness: a created version to fit into white society. To some extent,
