To commemorate Black History Month, we will be spotlighting the pioneers in tech who have paved the way for up-and-coming Black technologists. From completely revolutionizing the technology world to creating the everyday tech items we can’t live without today. As a collective, this group has helped inspire a whole generation of Black professionals in tech. So, let’s meet them. Gerald A. Lawson You can’t think of game consoles without mentioning the legendary Gerald A. Lawson. The chief hardware engineer – who recently had a Google Doodle dedicated to him – has been
I longed for a tech career as a stay-at-home mom with three academic degrees, including one from Yale. I attended my first hackathon over a decade ago and was immediately intrigued. Despite my impressive educational background, I found landing a tech role challenging. However, instead of giving up, I leaned into the affirming websites and platforms like POCIT that helped motivate me to pursue my dreams of a tech career. Read on to learn my story of perseverance and determination. How it All Started I gave birth to my daughter
Have you ever wanted to try a new hairstyle but can’t find the exact look or hairdresser you want? Growing Hands is the app that aims to streamline this process for all. Teacher turned tech entrepreneur JerDrema “Dreme” Flynt is on a mission to make managing Black hair a more enjoyable experience. Growing Hands allows users to personalize their hair mood to get the hairstyle they want. Once created, users can directly connect to different hairstylists to bring their vision to life. Growing Hands can be described as a mixture
According to Her Agenda, for the first time in Fortune’s 68-year history, women are leading more than 10% of Fortune 500 companies. A historical moment for women in business The report shows that this milestone was reached after five new women began their roles as CEOs of Fortune 500 companies – pushing the percentage balance to 10%. “Women as CEOs isn’t an oddity anymore,” said Jane Stevenson, global leader for the CEO succession practice at Korn Ferry. “It’s not the majority, but it’s not an oddity. So, 10% makes it more
Black-owned patient-driven digital platform, Free From Market (FFM), is one of a few food platforms working to empower individuals living with chronic health conditions. According to reports, African Americans are generally at higher risk of chronic health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, influenza, and pneumonia. To tackle this issue, Emily Brown decided to launch Free from Market, an easy-to-use app to help give Black and brown people access to diet-specific foods that can help improve their overall health. After years of providing customers with personalized data to help
Black people are strong but even more powerful when they come together. This is a statement Nia-Tayler Clark, founder of BLACKLIT, can heavily relate to. After receiving an unexpected eviction notice, social media users united to help Nia-Tayler Clark save her bookstore from closure. The online book community founded in 2019 initially began as a project in Clark’s tiny one-bedroom apartment. In a short time, the project blossomed and became the first Black-owned bookstore in Dallas, Texas. “BLACKLIT started in 2019, in my tiny one-bedroom apartment, with my toddler on my
It is easy to see the recent tech layoffs as businesses simply restructuring and cutting funds where they see fit. However, it is crucial for us to remember that behind every job cut is the new reality of someone’s life. Being Black in the workplace A recent TikTok video of a Black woman sharing her pain and frustration after being laid off from her job has triggered an all-too-familiar feeling amongst Black professionals. YouTuber and TikTok user @aestheticsconash posted a video on her social media shortly after being fired
Dr. Joya Lyons has merged her role as a mother and a cosmetic dentist by launching a new “Tooth Fairy and Enchanted Tooth Box” children’s book alongside an Enchanted Tooth Box. The book – launched by Enchanted Traditions LLC – aims to give children a modern and tech-enabled version of the classic tooth fairy story to adapt to the times we live in now. Enchanted Traditions, founded by Dr. Joya Lyons, specializes in creating fun and interactive children’s picture storybooks. Dr. Lyons’ main goal is to use technology to spark
Why wait for Black History Month to celebrate Black talent? According to Zippia, Black people comprise 13% of NASA’s workforce, each playing a significant role in astronomy and space exploration. Here are some of them. Dr. Christian Braneon – Climate Scientist Dr. Christian Braneon is a climate scientist and civil engineer at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). According to Business Wire, Braneon is a civil engineer, and a climate justice thought leader at Carbon Direct, with a broad range of experience in climate science and civil engineering. Dr.
Two years after the Big Tech companies pledged to fight racism, Black and Brown employees still bear the brunt of recent layoffs sweeping the industry. DEI teams are shrinking rapidly – here’s why. Hiring for DEI roles first ramped up during Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Tech companies pledged to boost their diversity efforts. According to Bloomberg, listings for DEI jobs have now dropped by 19% – a more significant drop than human resource or legal jobs. Many Big Tech companies that pledged to boost their diversity efforts have
