Kiesha Garrison, a former Microsoft director, has launched ‘Hey, Black Seattle!’, a platform designed to bolster the African diaspora within the Seattle area. Where Are All The Black People? ‘Hey, Black Seattle!’ is Garrison’s answer to the often-heard lament, “Where are all the Black people?” “When people repeat the popular hyperbole “there are no Black people in Seattle,” they do so out of genuine frustration, but it is clear they are missing out on the important work of the deeply committed Black leaders here,” said Garrison. However, the city does have Black-led organizations, businesses,
The 2024 Allstate HBCU Legacy Bowl Career Fair is set to open doors of tech opportunities for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Scheduled for February 22nd and 23rd at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, the event is specifically designed to bridge the gap between graduation and careers for HBCU students. Opening Avenues In Tech And Beyond The HBCU Legacy Bowl Fair is an initiative presented by the New Orleans Saints. The exclusive event is limited to juniors, seniors, and recent graduates (classes of 2022,
The representation of women and racial and ethnic minority groups has increased at all levels over the past five years at Microsoft, a report found. Microsoft has released its fifth annual Diversity and Inclusion Report. Microsoft described itself as more diverse today than ever before, stating that the data clearly shows they are driving a positive change. “Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is essential to Microsoft’s mission,” said Satya Nadella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Microsoft, in the report. “We remain focused on increasing representation and strengthening our
Microsoft has appointed Sarah Bond as the president of Xbox. According to Black Girl Gamers, Bond is the first Black woman to hold such a role at a major multinational gaming company. Meet Sarah Bond Bond has been with Microsoft for almost seven years. In 2017, she joined the company as a Corporate Vice President of Gaming Partnerships and Business Development. While in this role, she led business development, partner management, and M&A for the Xbox Division while also being the executive sponsor of Blacks @ Microsoft Employee Resource Group.
Microsoft and the Harlem Globetrotters have unveiled the Harlem CODEtrotters, a new platform to bridge the educational gap within Black and Brown communities. The web-based platform and coding curriculum fuses basketball-themed programming with cutting-edge technology to teach Black and Latinx teenagers key skills in a culturally relevant way. The Harlem Globetrotters Goodwill Ambassador Initiative Their aim includes advancing excellence in tech education while empowering Black and Brown youth communities. In August 2023, The Harlem Globetrotters launched its corporate social responsibility arm, the Harlem Globetrotters Goodwill Ambassador Initiative. The initiative aims
Black Tech Street has announced an alliance with Microsoft to transform the Oklahoma neighborhood of Greenwood, also known as “Black Wall Street,” into a national hub of Black talent and innovation. Greenwood and Black Tech Street Greenwood is a historic freedom colony in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and had one of the most prominent concentrations of African American businesses in the United States during the early 20th century. It was popularly known as America’s “Black Wall Street” but was burned to the ground in the Tulsa race massacre in 1921 by a white
Asmelash Teka Hadgu, the visionary behind startup Lesan, is changing the game for language translation, especially for Ethiopian Languages. Acknowledging the limitations of popular translation systems like Google Translate and Facebook, Lesan is on a mission to create language-specific technologies. Translating ‘low-resource’ Languages In an interview with Rest of the World, Hadgu explained that it has become urgent to create language-specific technologies because Google Translate and ChatGPT don’t fit the mark. AI translation models are known to be more accurate for ‘high-resource’ languages like English and Mandarin, and it was recently
Over thirty years ago, Guinean brothers Ibrahima and Abdoulaye Barry created ADLaM, new alphabet for the Pulaar language of the Fulani people of West Africa. Now, Microsoft 365 has integrated the redesigned alphabet into its global platforms, helping to preserve the language for years to come. Disappearing languages Every three months, a language becomes extinct. happens every three months. As much as 90% of the world’s 6,500 languages are expected to disappear by the end of the century. Although over 40 million people speak it, for most of its history,
Microsoft has announced the expansion of its AI for Good Research Lab to Cairo and Nairobi. The expansion aims to close the climate data divide by researching and developing AI machine learning in areas in Africa worst affected by the climate crisis. Africa’s Climate Crisis Research has revealed that high climate risk correlates with income and health inequalities. The findings also coincide with the fact that two billion people in the Global South were found to be living in some of the most climate-risk areas between 2008 and 2018. Despite Africa contributing less
Tech giant, Microsoft, is venturing into the clothing industry in their latest collaboration with Black designer Gavin Mathieu. The “Hardwear” collection encapsulates a “normcore” aesthetic, which primarily focuses on inner, not outer, value. As a result, the capsule features a range of minimalistic graphic tees and MS jackets, pants, pullovers, and hats. The collection was shot in front of the company’s iconic grassy hill desktop background and embodied the nostalgic start-up sound and wallpaper many users grew to love in the platform’s early days. The clothing brand, launched in partnership
