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5 Reasons Blerds Have Created Their Own Space

Embrace Intelligence and Blackness

A debate has recently ensued over “The Acting White Theory,” suggesting Black students are less inclined to be studious and smart because it is associated with being white. This  theory originated in the 1980s with anthropologist and former professor at University of California Berkeley, Dr. John Ogbu’s research. It is commonly used to explain the present-day achievement gap between Black and white students, according to theroot.com.

Although this theory has been cited by President Obama as a call to action to bring education and intellect into our communities, author and Georgetown University professor Michael Eric Dyson pushes back, believing that these anti-intellectual stereotypes of Black youth  are not founded in reality.

Researchers over the last three decades have consistently found that Black students have more positive attitudes about education than their white peers, although academic achievement is lower overall, theroot.com reports.

Blerds have created their own space to support Black intellectual creative abilities, and the desire for achievement in our communities.

Separate From Stereotypes of Black Culture

In today’s culture, Blackness is confined to a small scope. Modern-day images of Blackness often revolve around star athletes, hip-hop moguls, gangsters or TV housewives and baller’s baby’s moms. Oftentimes, these stereotypes reinforce accepted violence, hatred and ignorance against African-Americans.

On Aug. 9, 2014, Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager who a witness says raised his hands in surrender, was shot and killed by police in Ferguson, Missouri. Racial profiling may have led to his death and his race may have also influenced stories shared in the media about his possible criminal involvement, in attempt to justify and excuse the blatant disregard for his life.

Blerds have created their own space to separate from the stereotyped images of the Black culture and find sanctuary in the freedom to be who they were born to be.

Pay Homage to Intellectual Predecessors 

African-American intellectual Blerds, such as sociologist and activist W.E.B. Du Bois, educator and orator Booker T. Washington, academic and activist Cornel West and President Obama, all pushed the envelope, advocating the advancement of African-American rights, specifically, opportunities to higher education, reform of the criminal justice system, the end of the school-to-prison pipeline, and access to higher political office.

Blerds’ expression of themselves as intellectuals in their own space pays homage to the Black intellectuals, innovators and achievers that came before them.

Define Themselves and Their Narratives
Since 2002, Black journalists in the U.S. have lost 993 newsroom jobs, more than any other minority groups, according to The National Association of Black Journalists.
In An Open Letter to America’s Black Journalists, Eric L. Wattree, a Los Angeles journalist, declares that Black journalists do have a special and unique mission — to educate and help the Black community connect the dots and understand the complex structures of exploitation, prejudice and disenfranchisement of Black people in mainstream society.
As the number of employed Blacks dwindle across all sectors, it is even more imperative to create our own spaces in which we can thrive and support. Blerds have created their own space to define themselves and share their own narratives.
Document Their History For All Time
In today’s modern world, Africans and African-Americans have been misidentified by mainstream thought as inferior, lacking the skills, education and the drive necessary to succeed.
The little-told narratives of our ancestors , who created mathematics, martial arts, universal education and more, highlight the true nature of people of African descent, according to Atlanta Blackstar article, “When Black Men Ruled the World.”
Blerds have created their own spaces to document our successes so that our history is never again forgotten.
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Young Jamaican Animator Launches Arcade-Style Game App

A young animator, 24-year-old Stephen ‘Big Bomb’ Williamson, recently launched his  arcade-style game app called TapKat Fiesta.

Williamson is the director of Jamaica-based Island Interactive Studios, which is trading as Pandsoft. He launched the app in May.

As cellphone users turn to their mobile devices for entertainment, games such as Flappy Bird, Fruit Ninja and Temple Run are becoming more popular.

Williamson hopes TapKat Fiesta will also attract the huge number of players these successful games have managed to garner.

TapKat is very simple and allows the player the tap the screen to shoot healing balls at mutated birds.

“You have to watch out for bomb birds that explode on impact and also make enough shots before you run out of fuel,” Williamson told the Jamaica Observer about his game. “It offers classic arcade game-play that mixes elements from Duck Hunt, Fruit Ninja and Sonic.”

Williamson was experienced in the realm of animation and producing digital content, so he knew how to create and market the game.

“Given our background in animation and how attractive the market was, we had already been producing content for marketing companies which represent various major brands, so producing digital content for a global market wasn’t such a great challenge,” he said.

However, he is aware that there are harder challenges ahead. While introducing the game to the market was easy, standing out among a sea of video game apps is difficult.

The success of games like Flappy Bird is rare and the creator of the extremely simple game manages to pull in $50,000 a day.

“An effective growth strategy has to be carefully planned and executed or else the game will just be another game in the app store,” he said.

As of today, TapKat has earned high reviews but has only drawn about 50 downloads in the Google Play market on Android.

While users said they loved the simple game play, some suggested a tutorial to give clearer instructions.

For now, users have to “learn as you go,” but the simplicity of the game allows them to catch on quickly.

If the game attracts more attention, Williamson is prepared to move forward and make his next move quickly.

“If it manages to do well on its own, that success will be short-lived so marketing decisions for successful games are considered before the game is started and continue to influence the design and growth process when the game is launched,” he said. “We plan to grow naturally, like that of a well-nurtured tree seeking sunlight in a forest.”

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How Might Big Data Affect You As a Minority

With almost everything we do, we are leaving trail bits of tech data. Think about where you are right now, the computer (PC, Mac, tablet, phone, etc.) that you are using, the websites you’ve visited today, the items you’ve purchased and posts you’ve made on social media platforms.

Now consider that process over time  – most of us won’t remember all of what we did this week alone. But if you collected the tech trail of information about yourself and performed an analysis on it, you’d be surprised by what the data tells you. You’d be able to identify trends  and patterns in your behavior, your moods, spending habits, and so on.

Now imagine what businesses, governments, credit authorities, and data resellers have on you. This is not meant to make you wary of the digital age, it is simply to make you aware. It’s a cliche, but “knowledge is power.”

Big data is a term used to describe large (possibly petabytes) and complex data sets that are oftentimes difficult to process with commonly used software for data management. However, with new technologies that can efficiently process large amounts of data, analytics can provide insights into patterns which can lead to a myriad of opportunities.

For those who have taken advantage of big data or at least kept abreast of the topic, it is known that there are some amazing benefits to big data analytics – tailored recommendations, fraud prevention, real-time traffic information, just to name a few. But there are always two sides of a coin.

So, how might this pile of data be used against individuals or groups of people? Let’s say you live in an underprivileged neighborhood; you might receive credit card offers with higher than normal interest rates. This could be because big-data analysis identified that many people living in your area are short of cash, maybe in need of a credit card and don’t qualify for good terms.

This doesn’t mean you aren’t financially responsible, don’t qualify for a better rate, and wouldn’t be given one if you had applied on your own. But people are put into categories, and categories are used for marketing and decision-making.

Perhaps you frequent retailers where a large majority of other shoppers, possibly of your same race, also frequent, but many of them make late payments on their credit cards. Your credit card limit may be automatically decreased because your credit card company has created an algorithm that analyzes big data and determines high-risk profiles. You may be categorized with those who have high-risk profiles because of your weak association with those shoppers.

Think about how your social network, your posts, tweets, etc., all could play a role in your creditworthiness. Some companies are thinking of using social networks to help rate their customers.

These are just a few theories and possible examples of how big data can be used in somewhat nefarious ways. If you are divulging information that can be used by others, be mindful of what you share, how you use these technologies, and what can be done with it.

Be the master of your digital mind!

Quiessence is an Information Security Professional with over seven years of experience. She is also the Curriculum Development Lead for Black Girls CODE NY, creator of the Girltechie Campaign, and a workshop called “Securing Your Web”. Find her on the web @ www.itsquiessence.com

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Broadcast by Blerds: New Technology Drives DIY Radio, TV

The dawn of podcasts (the digital medium of episodic audio-recordings that can be downloaded or streamed online) circa 2004, ushered in a new era of independently owned and produced media. Podcasts, a mash-up between the words “broadcast” and “pod,” of iPod fame, have become a popular platform for marginalized voices.

Essentially only requiring a recording device, an Internet connection and a podcast hosting website, podcasts are relatively inexpensive and easy to produce, allowing content creators to produce episodes regularly and frequently.

During the first half of the 20th century, radio broadcasting functioned as the foremost medium for delivering relevant news, music, public affairs, and current events to largely Black audiences. Black radio also played an important role in the development of disc jockeys with powerful on-air personalities that strongly influenced musical tastes and provided discourse and commentary on current events, such as the Civil Rights Movement.

However, with payola scandals and increased corporate sponsorship came increased censorship, standardized scheduling, pressure for ratings, and less focus on issues of concern to the audiences the radio stations were catering to.

In the Internet and smartphone age, podcasts have become a reclamation of radio broadcasting, opening the door  for those who typically have been shut out from producing radio shows where they do not have the backing of corporate sponsorships, access to stations, experience and training, or resources for broadcasting equipment. Many local, community-run organizations, such as PhillyCam in Philadelphia, teach workshops on how to produce podcasts, or provide shared broadcasting space, community radio stations and other resources.

Podcasting opens up the space for important cross-generational conversations, as youth and older generations alike can produce, or tune in to podcast and internet radio shows with the click of a button.

During many shows, the hosts will live tweet, take calls, or open a chat room to broaden the discussion across various platforms. In this way, podcasts deepen the connections and conversations that take place through the Internet, expanding them out in ways that a character-limited textbox cannot always capture.

The audio encapsulated on podcasts, easily archived and shareable, digitizes the oral traditions of our ancestors, allowing us to honor these traditions and tell our stories in ways that gel with our 21st century realities and technologies.

A look at the podcast scene reveals that self-described Black nerds are very active in producing all types of Internet radio shows, and in doing so, are helping to shift the image of the typical nerd to a more realistic view – that no one color, creed, culture, or gender dominates nerd culture.

Podcasts also expand cultural safe spaces for Black nerds who can express themselves directly and personally with other like-minded Black nerds. Below is a list of 9 podcasts and Internet radio shows catering to Black fandom, nerd/geek culture, pop culture, sci-fi, tech, comics, horror, and more.

What are your favorite Black alternative or nerd culture podcasts?

1. Black Girl Nerds

Black Girl Nerds is a place for women of color with various eccentricities to express themselves freely and embrace who they are, in a world where the concept of Black women as geeky-dorky beings is considered an anomaly.

The BGN Podcast broadcasts weekly and is available for download on iTunes.

2. Black Tribbles

The 2014 winners of the Philly Geek Awards for Streaming Media Project, the Black Tribbles toss around sci-fi, comic books, movies, video games, cartoons and anything a geek would love, twice weekly on G-town Radio.com and 900AM WURD.

The Black Tribbles reveal untold stories of geek history, showcase new and upcoming projects, engage in thought-provoking conversation and provide critical insight into a culture that is often devoid of Black influence; all with a humorous irreverent tone that delights as it educates.

3. Black Girls Talking

A pop-culture podcast with four Black women discussing representation of people of color in various forms of media.

4. Black Science Fiction Society

A community that highlights, celebrates and develops science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy, horror, movies and games. Every Friday evening, BSFS hosts Genesis Radio with sci-fi author William Hyashi and Penelope Flynne.

The pair discuss relevant topics in science fiction from a Black perspective with special guest authors, illustrators, producers, and other Black sci-fi creators.

5. Blerds on Nerds

#SpreadtheNerd with Blerds on Nerds, a weekly podcast discussing the past week’s highlights in technology, movies, gaming and comics, while paying homage to Black nerds who have paved the way for us all.

6. Geek Soul Brother

Join Geek Soul Brother and The Five Nerdy Venoms in a conversation about the geek universe, including movies, television, comics and special topics, from the old school to the new geeky stuff coming out soon.

7. 3 Black Geeks

Three Black guys reppin’ all geeks everywhere, reviewing the best Black movies, martial arts, action, anime/manga, comics, and everything that white people think Black people aren’t into.

8. Fan Bros

The voice of the urban geek, Fan Bros discusses the week in geek while keeping an ear to the street for the topics and controversies that affect the world of fandom.

Show hosts DJ BenHaMeen and Tatiana King-Jones serve as the cultural guides for this unique show, along with a revolving cast of guests that run the gamut of interests – -from hip-hop and politics, to comics, movies, television and video games.

9. The Black Geeks Radio

A bunch of Black geeks get together and chaos ensues as they discuss movies, television, comics, technology, video games, and all things geek.

Rasheedah Phillips is a Philadelphia public interest attorney, speculative fiction writer, the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair, and a founding member of Metropolarity.net. She recently independently published her first speculative fiction collection, “Recurrence Plot (and Other Time Travel Tales).”

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Nigeria Has ‘Limitless Opportunities’ for Engineers in Burgeoning Economy

Several key sectors of Nigeria’s economy are suffering due to a lack of engineers who some say could provide the “backbone” for rapid development in the country.

Femi Akintunde, CEO of Alpha Mead Facilities and Management Services Limited (AMFacility), is the latest entrepreneur to publicly discuss the country’s shortage of engineers.

During the presentation of his paper, “The Engineer as the Prime Mover of Economic Development,” to the 2014 inductees of the Nigerian Society of Engineers at the University of Ibadan, Akintunde said the country is in “dire need of engineering solutions.”

“Today, the world and Nigeria is in dire need of engineering solutions,” he said. “This simply means that, if the simple economic rule of demand and supply is anything to go by, then there are limitless opportunities for engineers in the pool of problems that confront our nation.”

Akintunde went on to say that Nigeria’s “current economic indices and realities” can’t be solved without taking a close look at “engineering principles and practices.”

“These challenges therefore place a huge responsibility on the shoulders of engineering stakeholders; and as you join the league of this noble profession today, it is only ideal that we provoke your thinking to imbibe a solution mentality towards our nation’s economic problems,” Akintunde said. “You cannot afford to join the bandwagon of those complaining about Nigeria. The Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan is a document that highlights key areas of the economy, that can take our economy through the maturation circle of Vision 20:2020. You should make such documents a companion.”

The Nigeria Vision 20: 2020 document spells out a plan for Nigeria to become one of the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020.

Akintunde also had a message for the lecturers at the ceremony.

“Our lecturers must also understand that, as the society advances, its challenges also advance, and the only responses that can contain such advancements are new researches,” he continued. “The new breed of engineers has to be equipped with contemporary knowledge to be able to move the economy forward.”

Earlier this year, The National Power Training Institute of Nigerian relayed a similar message.

Back in April, the director-general of the Institute, Reuben Okeke, revealed that Nigeria needed more than 50,000 engineers to boost the power sector reform.

At the time, that sector had only 200 of the 51,000 required engineers.

Okeke said that since the employment embargo in 1998, the country has struggled to attract young, qualified engineers.

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Breaking Barriers: African Women in Tech Industry Continue to Defy Odds

The technology industry has long been reserved for male entrepreneurs, but an online discussion among female tech experts all across Africa sheds light on how many women have already made their presence known in the field.

Statistics show that the number of women in the technology world is low.

In June, Yahoo’s Equal Employment Opportunity statistics revealed that although nearly 40 percent of the company employees are female, only 15 percent are in tech-related positions.

Other major companies, such as Dropbox, have a little over 8 percent of their female employees involved in software engineering, according to a 2013 spreadsheet released by Pinterest software engineer Tracy Chou.

Female tech entrepreneurs, like Ethel Cofie of Ghana, are on the way to reversing these troubling statistics.

Cofie is one of the pioneering members of a “Women in Tech” group that is working to create an alliance of female tech experts all across Africa.

According to Cofie’s guest article on CNN’s website, her own online efforts marked the first time someone had attempted to “build a pan-African Women in Tech network that would allow [women] to compare [their] challenges, learn from each other and connect across borders” to increase their influence.

Cofie teamed up with four other African women, all from different countries, to organize a digital meetup earlier this month.

More than 150 women signed up to be a part of the meetup and the online movement spread like wildfire.

By the time the Aug. 2 meetup ended, the hashtag #WtechAfrica had reached nearly 75,000 people and made close to 200,000 impressions on Twitter.

The online event certainly did not go smoothly, however.

Cofie explained that technical difficulties threatened to put an end to the massive meetup, but the determination by the participants kept the discussion alive and allowed it to have more reach.

The meetup was originally supposed to take place on Google Hangout, but when poor connections and other technical difficulties made it nearly impossible for the large group of women to effectively communicate, it appeared that Cofie’s efforts were doomed.

That’s when she realized many of the participants had moved the discussion to Facebook and eventually over to Twitter.

As it turns out, problems with Internet connections and power shortages are some of the major obstacles facing tech entrepreneurs in Africa, and Cofie admitted that those challenges will make diversity in the tech realm an uphill battle.

“The problems that African women in tech face are not very different from the ones female techies in many other parts of the world also come across,” she wrote in her guest piece. “Yet, these challenges, coupled with some Africa-specific problems like power shortages and broadband inaccessibility, create an uphill task for women wanting to enter the industry and develop the high-level technical skill required in order to progress.”

With successful female tech experts like Regina Agyare of Soronko Solutions in Ghana, and Rebecca Enonchong of AppsTech in Cameroon, Cofie knows it is still very possible for women to continue thriving in this male-dominated field that she hopes won’t be quite so male-dominated in the near future.

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Today in History: Inventor Alexander Ashbourne, Refiner of Coconut Oil

There is very little known about the inventor Alexander Ashbourne (c. 1820-1915). Aspects of his early life are unknown and undocumented. Ashbourne was born into slavery circa 1820 in Philadelphia, and lived to be 95 years old. He moved to Oakland, California, in the 1880s to run his own grocery store. However, his greatest invention still lives on today.

Ashbourne is best known for his patents that made coconut oil accessible for domestic use.

Today in history, Ashbourne received a patent for treating coconut on Aug. 21, 1877. He received patent number 194,287  for his process. The process for refining the oil includes: filtration, bleaching, heated to a very high temperature, and it is hydrogenated to ensure that no unsaturated fatty acids are left in the oil. The process was difficult at the time because there was a lack of technological advancement. Ashbourne was revolutionary. His process is still used today and has been built upon by food companies worldwide.

He also gained a patent for a process for preparing coconut oil on July 27, 1880. He started working on this refining process in 1875, and continued until 1880.

Thanks to his work, coconut oil is used in hair products, foods and scented products.

In addition to coconut refining, Ashbourne patented his biscuit cutter invention on May 11, 1875. Before the biscuit cutter, cooks had to shape biscuits by hand.

The spring-loaded cutter had a board to load biscuits and unload them easily. There was a metal plate with various shapes. The cook could push down on the plate to cut the dough into shapes.

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Do You Know the Difference Between Options and Opportunities?

As the summer vacation season quickly draws to a close, I am reminded of the scores of African-American students, young and old,  who will descend onto various places of higher learning to either begin or continue their journey toward that mythical destination known as  “a profession,” in the hopes of finding the elusive career vs. an ordinary job.

Yet before any one of them can realize a true profession — let alone a career — they must learn a critical lesson that is unfortunately often not taught to these students, yet is what often determines who among them will achieve success (whatever that success might look like) and who will know the soul-numbing, joy-stealing ache of failure.

What is this critical lesson that is often withheld from our best and brightest?

It is understanding the dynamic yet subtle relationship between opportunities ( for example, university vs. trade school) and options (for example, UCLA or USC vs. UTI or ITT), while having the courage to consciously make choices instead of simply going along with what you’re handed — that is, letting someone else choose for you.

In this piece we’ll examine the former — opportunities vs. options. The latter — conscious decision-making — we’ll leave for another time.

Opportunities are best defined as “a set of circumstances that make it possible to do something,” while options are best defined as “a thing that is or may be chosen.”

So based upon the definitions, we see that while opportunities contain options, options don’t necessarily contain opportunities. It is very important that young African-Americans who are pursing professions understand this subtle yet important difference. You want to make sure everything you are doing drives the creation of opportunities rather than options. Success is more often than not the result of given set of circumstances (opportunities) that allows you  “to go from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm,” as Winston Churchill once said.

It is opportunity (not options) that explains why Michael Vick was able to resume his professional football career, while Allen Iverson basically has been exiled from professional basketball.

Options only give you the chance to choose between what “you will have;” Google Iverson and see what he had and lost as $200 million buys a lot of stuff.

Opportunities give you the chance to create more opportunities. As Sun Tzu noted, “Opportunities multiply as they are seized,” thus they enable you to choose what “you will be;” Google Michael Vicks’ 60 Minutes interview and hear him describe what he has become due to opportunities from his incarceration and a second chance in the NFL.

When Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet, “To be or not to be, that is the question,” he was referencing the power of opportunity, as it’s only through opportunity do you get the ability to make the kind of choices that impact the person you are or will become.

So for those of you who are starting your collegiate careers, think carefully about your choice of major. Psychology or sociology, often a favorite, might be interesting or even considered “easy” but as Ann Landers said, “Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work so people don’t recognize them.”  If I were you I’d be leery of anything “easy” as few (if any) opportunities await within.

To those who are already well down the path of a given major, look for ways to maximize your opportunities upon graduation. While often not easy nor convenient, changing institutions is often a way to increase your opportunities;  a psychology degree from University of Southern California (USC) carries with it more opportunities than one from Long Beach State (CSU-LB).

So I leave you with the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “It is not often that a man can make opportunities for himself. But he can put himself in such shape that when or if the opportunities come he is ready.”

So what will you be? For that, my friends, is the only question.

 Tre Green is a 25yr veteran of the IT industry who specializes in solving “mission impossible” for Fortune 500 organizations. When not adding to his frequent flier miles and preferred guest status Tre can be often be found at home relaxing with his motely crew of pets.

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Georgia Teens Respond to Events in Ferguson by Creating App to Rate Police

Three teen siblings from Decatur, Georgia, are using technology to make a difference in the fight for justice against police brutality, racial profiling and other issues that have created a divide between police and the communities they serve.

As the world watches Ferguson, Missouri, closely, many people have reprimanded the police forces for the way they have handled the Mike Brown shooting case and events that followed. Unarmed Brown, 18, was shot and killed Aug. 9 by a police officer. In reaction to the teen’s death, protests were held.

President Barack Obama also expressed his disappointment in the force, saying that there is “no excuse” for Ferguson police to use excessive force against peaceful protesters.

While it seems a large number of people are upset with the police’s behavior and military-like tactics, one teen acknowledged that not all police forces are duplicates of the one in Ferguson.

Good cops still exist.

So 14-year-old Caleb Christian of Parkview High School teamed up with his older sisters, Parkview High School senior Ima Christian, 16, and Gwinnett School of Music and Technology sophomore Asha Christian, 15, to create an app that puts more power into the hands of those the police are supposed to serve.

Caleb called the app “Five-O,” which he said was inspired by the television show, according to Forbes.

The Pinetart website Caleb made to market his app explained that the young teen was “concerned about the number of incidents of police abuse in the news” but also knew that “there were many good police officers in various communities.”

The issue, the website explained, was that people “had no way of figuring out which communities were highly rated and which were not.”

That’s where Five-O comes in.

The app uses a Yelp-like rating system and allows citizens to upload reviews and add ratings of the police in their area.

App users can fill out full incident reports and hand out grades to police officers and police departments in their area.

The app is also more than just a space for reviews.

Other features allow users to locate their local police stations, look up their rights, check other citizen reviews and even organize their community in the event they want to come together for the sake of a peaceful demonstration or other community effort.

The Google Play page for the app also reveals that this is a Beta version of the app so users should expect to hit a few kinks and bugs. In the event they do, the app also features a handy feedback button that will help Caleb use consumer reports to fine-tune and improve the app.

As with most apps that use a Yelp-like rating system, however, it is important for app users to take the ratings and feedback with a grain of salt.

There is no system in place to confirm the accuracy of reports, and many people feel more inclined to report bad experiences than good ones when it comes to writing out a review online.

The app was created Monday and has already garnered somewhere between 100 and 500 installs.

The Google Play page says the app is compatible with all devices.

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10 Young Black Tech Innovators You Should Know

Kimberly Bryant

Bryant founded San Francisco-based Black Girls Code in 2011 to help close the digital divide for girls of color. So far the nonprofit organization has trained more than 1,500 girls to work in technology fields such as robotics, video game design, mobile phone application development and computer programming.

This past July, Bryant, a biotechnology and engineering professional, was one of 11 people to receive the White House Champions of Change for Tech Inclusion award. The award is given to celebrate people in the U.S. “who are doing extraordinary things to expand technology opportunities for young learners—especially minorities, women and girls, and others from communities historically under-served or under-represented in tech fields,” according to whitehouse.gov.

Dr. Paul Judge

Dr. Paul Q. Judge is a serial entrepreneur and noted scholar with a doctorate in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. The Atlanta-based entrepreneur has founded several companies that expanded and resulted in successful acquisitions. In 2000, Judge joined the founding team of CipherTrust, an anti-spam email software company, which became one of the fastest growing firms in North America with 300 employees and over 3,000 customers, including half of the Fortune 500 companies, in more than 50 countries. CipherTrust was acquired by Secure Computing for $273 million in 2006.

Judge has received many awards and was recognized by the MIT Technology Review Magazine as one of the top 100 young innovators in the world in 2003. He was also featured in Black Enterprise magazine’s list of “50 Most Powerful Players Under 40.”‘

Ory Okolloh

Harvard-educated Ory Okolloh of Kenya has created both the watchdog site Mzalendo and the crime reporting site Ushahidi, and now serves as Google’s policy manager in Africa. Recognized as one of Fast Company’s Most Influential Women in Technology last year, she is set to become the new face of entrepreneurship on the continent.

Shaun Evans

Shaun Evans is the chief executive officer of OMBO Apps, which is becoming one of Atlanta’s hottest tech companies to take on the mobile industry. His startup company develops cutting-edge mobile applications targeting the African-American market. Evans is a game-changer with one hit already under his belt, Urban Gossip FREE, the No. 1 black celebrity news app for iPhone and Android mobile devices.

Anthony Frasier

Anthony Frasier is a native of Newark, N.J., former co-founder of mobile startup Playd, and the award- winning gaming site TheKoalition.com. Anthony was also profiled in the online hit documentary Black in America: The New Promised Land – Silicon Valley, which has received over 1 million viewers.

In 2012 CNN Money profiled an elite group of eight minorities diversifying the tech industry and Frasier made the list. He was also listed in NBC The Grio’s “100: Making History Today” for his acclaimed work. Currently he’s working on building up the Newark tech scene and a new tech startup.

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