Posted on

7 Black Nerd Events Worth Attending in 2014

Did you tell yourself that this year would be different, and you were going to be a better professional by attending more conferences? Did you have hopes of expanding your professional network, improving your technical skills, or building your brand?

Were you hoping to get out and mingle with like-minded people who enjoy art in its various forms but haven’t had the chance? Are you disappointed in yourself because it’s almost the end of summer and you have not signed up for one conference or gone to one event?

The summer may be coming to a swift close but the year is not over yet. Here are some worthy conferences and events that you can still check out before 2015 rolls around.

 

1.Chicago Writers Conference

What: The Chicago Writers Conference is a conference for writers and those aspiring to be writers. The two-day conference offers programs and workshops to help attendees improve their writing skills.

When: Oct. 24-26

Where: Chicago, Illinois,

How: The conference supports writers by providing immersive writing courses and workshops that are focused on skill building such as, writing for the stage and screen, and finding your voice. It also features discussions from bestselling authors.

 

2. NSBE Professional Development Conference

What: The National Society for Black Engineers is hosting its third annual Professional Development Conference. The three-day conference is meant to create a space for professionals to network, improve skills, and engage with leaders in the industry.

When: Oct 2-Oct 5

Where: Phoenix, Arizona

How: Networking and skill building will occur through a variety of ways, and attendees will have the opportunity to receive one-on-one mentoring through the Executive Mentoring Suite.

There are a series of workshops that cover topics related to increasing success in the field. For example “Networking on the Green”  addresses how to use nontraditional networking skills on and off the golf course.

 

3. Art Miami

What: An international contemporary and modern artist fair. The fair brings in collection curators, museum professionals, and artists from all over the world. Important artwork from the 20th and 21st centuries will be showcased.

Where: Downtown Miami

When: Dec. 2

How: The fair encompasses seminars, Understanding the Artist: Permanence is Forever, a curator brunch that allows them to mingle and network with other curators around the world, and a variety exhibits.

 

4. Code(Her) Conference

What: A one-day conference that allows women interested in the tech industry to build a professional network, increase their knowledge of changing trends in the field, learn and improve skills.

When: Sept. 13

Where: Chevy Chase, Md.

How: The Code(Her) conference is unique as it has a series of immersive workshops to help women network and build skills to be competitive in the tech field. The workshops focus on everything from cyber security to branding through social media.

 

5. The Lean Startup Conference

What: The Lean Startup Conference has been helping entrepreneurs build networks and skills for the past five years. The conference gives entrepreneurs an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who have proven success with their startups.

It allows participants to get the answers to questions such as: How can I get internal services like IT, finance, legal, and HR to act like startups and serve entrepreneurial teams throughout my organization? As well as questions that cover how to get buy-ins from leaders and managers to support entrepreneurial methods.

When: Dec. 8 – 12

Where: San Francisco, California

How: Attendees gain knowledge and support through a series of workshops, sessions, one-on-one meetings, Q&A panels, and group dinners over the course of five days.

 

6. DC Shorts Film Festival

What: A 10-day festival where the world’s top short films are screened to a wide audience. For this year, over 100 films will be screened from 25 countries. The main purpose of the fair is to create a space for filmmakers and lovers of film to mix and mingle and enjoy great cinematic art.

When: Sept. 11-21

Where: Several locations in Washington, D.C.

How: The film festival helps individuals engage with each other through film screenings, parties, and workshops and competitions.

 

7. Urban Tech Weekend

What: A two-day conference hosted by the National Black Info Tech Leadership Organization. The goal of the conference is to narrow the diversity gap for Black and Latino-Americans in the technology field.

When: Sept. 25-27

Where: Houston, Texas

How: The conference supports Black and Latino-Americans through networking from various companies. Also available will be  panels with speakers who are leaders in the tech fields, workshops,  and mentorship opportunities.

Posted on

Jason Young’s App, Thrive and Shine, Sheds Light on Finances For College Students

Jason Young is the co-founder of MindBlown Labs, an Oakland-based tech company that is responsible for creating an innovative and educational learning tool called Thrive and Shine. The main goal of the app is to increase financial literacy and capability for young Americans.

Young said he “had an idea” and with right help and support, Thrive and Shine was born.  The Harvard  University graduate was just recently appointed to the Special Advisory Council on Financial  Capability for Young Americans by President Obama. This new responsibility has afforded him more access, resources and support to improve  financial capability for our youth.

Q. When you think about young people being financially capable/literate what does that mean to you?

So what that really means to me is that they have the knowledge, skills, mindset and trained behaviors necessary to make financial decisions that will impact their lives.

Q.The national retention rate for college is so low, how much of that do you think is directly attributed to students being financially illiterate?

There are a lot of factors which impact college retention, but I do think that financial literacy and financial capability are very important factors. Financial literacy is having the knowledge, and financial capability is broader. Financial literacy is actual a part of financial capability. A lot of students going to college are not financially capable. They don’t understand how to finance college. My second oldest brother dropped out of college because he didn’t understand the financial aid process and didn’t know where to look for money so he couldn’t pay tuition.

On the other hand, I think there’s another factor which is the understanding of the long-term ramifications of going to college and not finishing. Most students don’t think of college as a financial decision. They don’t understand that, so they don’t understand the decision they’re making when they choose to drop out or to continue.

I think if a lot more students understood that they will still be paying those student loans 10 years later, whether or not they finish, then they would understand the significant impact college could have on income. Knowing that would allow them to make very different choices.

Q. How do you see Thrive and Shine being used as way to help students think about college as a financial decision?

So the high-level answer is that Thrive and Shine does a good job of helping students do what they can’t do in real life, which is to see the consequences of their actions in real time. I think that’s very powerful. Specifically with regards to college, the next version coming out this fall actually will cover the impact of a college education on earning potential, as well as student loans. This will allow them the choice to actually go to college and see what happens if they don’t finish. They can see what happens when they take out loans and they can see what happens if they take out too many loans.

Q.Do they see what happens with private vs. federal loans?

It doesn’t get that detailed, but we’re building a curriculum around that and the curriculum will go into that detail.

Q.In thinking about the curriculum, how would you advise college access counselors to use Thrive and Shine as learning tool for students?

In terms of how it can be used, first and foremost we see it as a tool to get students excited just about the idea of money and some of the concepts related to money. So for most students who haven’t even had a job, how do you talk to them about student loans when they literally don’t understand how much a tank of gas costs?  If they haven’t had a job, they can’t make those kinds of cost relations. The idea is to help them create those connections and not just on individual topics but systematically, which allows them to see how the cost of college relates to their own life.

Now in terms of these particular topics, we’re building experiential curriculum and the idea is to have students play the game, have them become used to the concepts, get excited about those concepts and then the instructor, teacher, or counselor will talk to them about their experiences in the game.

From there, they can build upon those experiences to go more in-depth. Instead of talking about federal vs. private student loans or interests rates, they can talk about the student’s avatar, what happened when student loans were taken out, what happened when the avatar graduated. If the avatar doesn’t graduate, then students can discuss options like what it means to take out loans and not finish college, or what it means to finance college through scholarships or what it means to consider attending a more affordable college.

Essentially, the student and the instructor start to have that conversation and it’s based on at least some part of the student’s reality.

Q.You have an economics background from Harvard. Did your economics background make it challenging for you to create Thrive and Shine?

Well, I definitely had to build an entire to team to do this. There are eight people working on this full-time right now. A lot of the times when people hear you say you created an app they think “Oh wow, that’s easy.” The truth is it takes time and  a lot of energy.

The fact that it’s an educational app adds another layer of complexity. There was a definite learning curve for me when I started working on Thrive and Shine. I actually went to work for a startup before doing this. I worked there for several years learning about technology and working with developers and even then, coming out, there was still a huge learning curve.

I would say it was challenging, but I mean most things worthwhile are challenging. It takes a lot of time and effort. You have to learn and you also have to make sure you have good people around you. This is a team effort. I didn’t build this app. I had an idea. I recruited a team. It really requires a lot of really smart and passionate people and a lot of time. It was very iterative. We had the concepts, we designed it, and we built a little piece of it, and tested it. Overall we’ve tested with nearly 4,000 students and thankfully, before we consider the app to be truly complete, we’ll have tested with 10,000 or 20,000 students.

 

Q. Thrive and Shine is visually stimulating and engaging. What was the process around tackling the artistic aspects of the app?

Well, most financial literacy instruction just doesn’t work in part because it’s not engaging.

Our No. 1 mandate was to make sure this game was engaging. We wanted to make sure we were creating something students could relate to.  In terms of the avatar, that was also a major focus. What we found at the rudimentary level was that students really engage with the avatar. We had students who played it for 40 or more hours in their free time and they expressed that they wanted their avatar to be successful, so they sent her to college but now they want to help her pay off the loans.

Some expressed that when they stopped playing the game their avatar was sad, so they went back and played some more.  The feedback from the students let us know that the avatar played a key role in the application which was something we didn’t learn from creating it. As a result of the feedback, we invested a lot of resources to rebuild the avatar system from scratch.

Q.This year you were appointed to the Special Advisory Council on Financial  Capability for Young Americans.  What are some of the things you and the other council members are already discussing as far as new initiatives and policies to improve financial capability for young people?

I can only say so much about we’re doing at this point. What I will say is that the council is different from previous councils because it places a large emphasis on public-private partnerships, as well as on partnerships between the members of the council.

We are also more focused on young people and that is huge. We are looking at how we as members can do things and have an impact. One of the things we are focusing on is how we can get high-quality financial capability instruction more widespread so that students, particularly from lower-income backgrounds, can have more access.

Q.Does that mean that you might be going into the schools asking questions?

It’s very likely that we would. Another piece of that is that a lot of the organizations represented in the council work with young people.

 Q.What factors do you think play into the African-American community as a whole as financially illiterate?

I think that as with many things, African-Americans are not doing as well with financial literacy but everyone is doing horrible. Part of it is socio-economic. Ninety-five percent of students graduate financially illiterate. Even up through the middle class, which means our youth don’t know anything about money.

It’s more pronounced in the African-American community because there is a higher level of poverty and a lot more single-parent households and so those issues get exacerbated. However, on a broader spectrum most people are financially illiterate. Most parents feel uncomfortable talking to their kids about money. So as nation, no one is teaching financial literacy and what it means to be financially capable to our youth.

I think in the African-American community, that gets exacerbated because there are all these other negative cultural influences that promote the exact opposite of financial literacy. But once again, that is a microcosm of what has happened in American culture in general.

We have rap, we have hip-hop which promotes some very negative values these days, at least the mainstream version of it. At the same time, you have The Bachelor and the Real Housewives which essentially promote the same negative values. Financial illiteracy is  not an issue unique to the African-American community.

Financial literacy is a necessity for the nation as whole.

 

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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.

Pages: 1 2
Posted on

Power to the Tweeple

When crisis hits, the most natural and human reaction is to want to help those who are suffering. After a hurricane, we send clothes and rebuild houses. After a terrorist attack, we mourn together and reaffirm our devotion to our nation. But after social injustice hits us, we don’t know what to do.

How can we help? What can a person in Seattle, Dallas or any town in America do to ease the pain of a mother grieving for her son, or fight a system built on a tradition of racism and injustice?

In this, as in most things, technology provides us with an answer and an opportunity.

The phrase “hashtag advocacy” has been derided, debunked and devalued. Countless bloggers, critics and media personalities have poked fun at people who tweet as a response to a crisis somewhere in the world. They say that 140 characters can’t change anything, that if you speak against injustice without immediately giving away all of your worldly possessions and devoting your life to a cause, that it doesn’t make a difference. That if you’re tweeting #IamTrayvon one day and #BringBackOurGirls the next, you’re flighty and just following a trend.

Fortunately, that’s not the case. We don’t tweet for justice for Trayvon Martin, the return of the stolen girls in Nigeria, and the crises in Ferguson, Mo., and the Gaza Strip because we’re being trendy. Social tweets are not an equivalent to a day trip to Forever 21.

We tweet because there is so much injustice, so much anger and pain and so many, many causes that need our help, that sometimes the best we can do is call attention by screaming out loud in the one way that is sure to be heard. We use hashtags to prove that we are not alone in our feelings, but that there are hundreds, thousands, millions of voices who believe what we believe, who are angered and appalled at the world around us. We use hashtags to prove that we cannot be ignored.

Hashtag advocacy leads to media stories, leads to organized protests, leads to attention, leads to change. Just ask the tweeters of the Arab Spring.

Hashtags pressured the cops to arrest George Zimmerman.

Hashtags forced the government to act in Nigeria.

Hashtags got celebrity chef Paula Deen fired.

Hashtags allowed the people of #Ferguson to tell their story even when the police tried to push the media out.

Is hashtag advocacy a solution? Of course not. It’s a tool, a way to bring together a chorus of voices to aid, assist and force action. It’s vocal protest, in 140 characters or less. Like all protest, it requires action. We can’t all fight for everything, but we can lend our voices to each other’s causes, to help each other in the fight.

Hashtags organize protests, on-the-ground movements that prove that people aren’t just willing to type, they’re willing to stand for what they believe in. Hundreds of thousands of people have shown solidarity for Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown in organized protests around the country. And because of those movements, because of hashtag advocacy, Zimmerman was arrested and tried (no comment on the result, jurors aren’t allowed to read Twitter), Congress is investigating the militarization of local police, and people with no voice are being heard.

Don’t believe that protests work? I think you and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  need to have a conversation. You can meet him in Selma.

Tech is the great equalizer in more ways than one. It allows everyday people to bring attention to issues that may be ignored, speak truth to power, and record the history that others may not want us to see. King wasn’t marching for his health. He marched because he knew that the sight of thousands of Americans marching on Selma, the National Mall, and countless other places, demanding equal rights, was the first step in making serious, systemic change. He learned that from Ghandi.

Susan B. Anthony and Gloria Steinem marched for women’s rights, and you better believe they would have tweeted too. Because the leaders of the great movements of our time didn’t just march. They wrote letters, songs, articles, plays and poems. They ran races in defiance of Hitler and pumped Black power fists on the Olympic medal stand. They danced and painted and played one hell of a game of tennis. They used every voice, every talent and every avenue to fight for their rights. To fight for change.

Every great community organizer has marshaled the power of popular opinion in the most current and relevant form. Right now, that’s Twitter. It’s working. Who are we to argue?

Power to the Tweeple.

Kat Calvin is a social entrepreneur, writer and advocate for the empowerment of women, entrepreneurs and the black community. She is the founder of Michelle in Training, a mentoring and educational organization. You can follow her at @KatCalvinDC.

Posted on

Black Women in Tech Fields Face ‘Double Minority’ Struggle

It’s a known fact that the technology industry can use more diversification. I’ve been in the information security field for about seven years, and in most of my roles, I’ve been one of two women in a sea of men. In my current position, I am the only woman.

Frankly, I don’t blame this lack of diversity on companies. Companies hire people who are right for the job, fit the culture of the environment, and can grow the organization. Undoubtedly, there are adjustments companies can make to help increase the level of diversity and to make Black and brown workers in these fields feel more comfortable.

But why focus on increasing diversity? Diversity is important as we all have different experiences in life and bring our distinct perspectives to the forefront. Culture, lifestyle, environment, etc., all shape our mindset,  giving each person  a unique offering that differs from their peers, with disparate ideas and approaches to a problem.

Why is it important to for companies to help women and minorities in tech roles feel more comfortable? Oftentimes when you are a Black or brown employee, you tend to feel like an outcast, and even if you don’t, you still want to feel a sense of inclusion. If you don’t feel included, you are bound to seek it elsewhere. Personally, I don’t mind working with mostly men. But “mostly” is the operative word. I find it gratifying to just have a chat with a female colleague. Not only did having another woman on my team make my environment more pleasing from a personal perspective, but men and women often tend to think differently, handle situations differently, and propose completely different strategies.

This is why tailored networking groups serve a good purpose.

There are several questions that surface on this topic:

Why aren’t there more women and African-Americans in technology?

What can companies do to attract more women and minority workers?

Why do women leave technical roles?

I’m not going to venture into answering those questions, as they are so complex.  However, what about the candidates? Are we, women and minorities doing our part to become creators of technology and not just consumers? Are companies and media outlets doing their part to highlight women and minorities with great technology accomplishments that will inspire our youth?

With that being said, there are experiences had by women and minorities in tech that touch opposite ends of the spectrum. Personally, my experience has been rewarding. I’ve encountered a few situations that were not ideal, but could not be completely attributed to the fact that I am a double minority. On the other hand, I’ve heard of horrific experiences had by women and minorities that were clearly related to their gender or ethnicity.

But before we start placing blame, let’s take some accountability. Before we start complaining about how other races are not creating things with us in mind, let’s bunker down and become creators. Before we start asking what others are teaching our youth, let’s plant meaningful seeds within the minds of our future generations.

No one can tell our stories better than us. No one can understand our struggles better than us. No one can, in a sense, become chameleons like we can. So who better than us than to take charge and be the creators of our own destinies? We don’t always have to be double minorities.

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

Posted on

Technology Diversity Is Not The Next Civil Rights Step

“Tech Diversity is the next civil rights step,” Rev. Jesse Jackson reportedly announced last month. As an African- American woman with 20-plus years in the field of technology, I respectfully disagree with Jackson’s opinion. As a matter of fact, I believe this type of rhetoric serves as a smokescreen and is not conducive to bridging the racial and gender technology gap. It simply takes our eyes off the prize.

Jackson’s lobbying of tech companies and asking them to disclose their hiring data is to be commended. However, now that the numbers have been exposed, this is an opportune time to shift the conversation. This issue is about an empowerment movement in our African-American community. A movement involving empowering us to proactively engage in the field of technology. A movement to transform technology consumers into coders.

There are science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs for young people in every state. Coding and technology classes for adults are plentiful (although some are one-hit wonders with no employment opportunities tied to them, but that’s another conversation). The aforementioned being true now raises questions and shifts the conversation to how we can collectively:

1) Improve community awareness and encourage active participation in technology training programs and career opportunities.

2) Empower minorities to believe they can succeed in the technology field.

3) Engage work opportunities in the right roles, given the many aspects of technology jobs, not merely “coding.”

4) Engage committed technology employers in a conversation, which will lead to hiring entry-level, nontraditionally educated technology professionals.

Shifting the conversation must also involve a discussion about a full-cycle program of helping successful non-tech workers re-career into the field of technology. We are missing an entire population of adults who are unemployed, underemployed or simply looking for a change.

In our Detroit-based organization, Sisters Code, we call it “Awakening the Mature Geek,” and I’m living proof that it will work. After college, I was an aspiring mortician and middle school teacher. At the age of 25, I participated in a corporate training program where I learned to code in seven different languages in 13 weeks.

My life was instantly transformed and I emerged as a mainframe programmer. I went on to become a global technology corporate executive, deputy CIO, and technology CEO. If I did not have my personal technology “awakening,” my life would not be what it is today.

Although my perspective is different from Rev. Jackson’s, it does not mean I don’t recognize the need for deeper engagement across our ecosystem. There must be opportunity awareness in the community, identification of individuals who are interested in exploring careers in technology, training and workforce development programs with a direct link to jobs, and corporations who are committed to hiring nontraditionally educated employees.

Speaking from the experience of often being the only woman and person of color at many technology tables, the workforce technology diversity numbers aren’t shocking, but I’m 100 percent sure we can do better. If we are really serious about bridging the racial and gender technology gap, there must be accountability and engagement among all concerned parties.

Count me in.

Posted on

Afrofuturism: Black Presence in Sci-Fi Worlds of Technology, Magic, Fantasy

The term “futurism” typically calls to mind a forward-looking aesthetic or theme that envisions the prospective future of humanity. If popular speculative/sci-fi media, art, literature, and film are any indication, the images that people typically draw to mind when envisioning the future involve post-apocalyptic aesthetics and landscapes, highly advanced technology, and interplanetary or outerspace travel.

Glaringly absent from these visions of the future, however, are diverse cultures and complicated, intersectional identities. Although creators of speculative fiction have been able to successfully conceive of novel technologies, map out the future of humanity, and envision new worlds in science fictional narratives, traditional sci-fi has, on the whole, failed to transcend the social hierarchy, supremacy, and privilege that plague our present-day realities.

In a traditional speculative world, these narratives replay over and over, where the marginalized are virtually non-existent or play exceptionally minor roles, seemingly due to inferior genetics and an inability to adapt to changing social and environmental conditions.

This is where afrofuturism as a genre, lens, community, and practice becomes important, not as a response or reaction to the lack of representation, but as testament to the fact that not only have Black folk (along with other marginalized groups) already made it into the future, we are, in fact responsible for shaping it.

The term afrofuturism, coined in the 1993 essay “Black to the Future” by cultural critic Mark Dery, is today generally understood to be one of the umbrella terms for the substantial Black presence in the worlds of sci-fi, technology, magic, and fantasy.

Distinctive from other notions of genre-based futurism, afrofuturistic concepts of sci-fi, fantasy, myth, and speculation bind both the past and future, delivering them to a “now” in visual, literary, musical terms, and any other mode of expression that one sees fit to attach the lens to.

Afrofuturism is visionary and retrospective and current all at once, recognizing time as cyclical, spiral, revolving, and usually anything but linear, much like the space-time traditions of our ancestors from the motherland. In this way, afrofuturism creates a perpetually accessible bridge between ourselves, our ancestors, and our descendants, between our futures and our pasts, reminding us that we are a part of the future that our foremothers and fathers shaped because their experiences remain embedded in our experiences and give context to our choices.

Under this interpretation of afrofuturism, I find it to be a potent– even if at times imperfect — platform upon which I can launch my own science fiction/science possibility stories and practices. The community, imagery, theory, and language that I came across in afrofuturism and Black sci-fi inspired the creation of my own organization, The AfroFuturist Affair.

Founded in Philadelphia in 2011, The AfroFuturist Affair was formed to celebrate, strengthen, and promote afrofuturistic and Black sci-fi culture through creative events, community workshops, blogging, and creative writing. We use proceeds from events to fund the Futurist Fund Community Grant, which serves underserved members of the community in need of emergency assistance funds.

Afrofuturism has also helped me to find very natural connections between the work I do as a legal services attorney providing free legal assistance to poor Philadelphians, my own experiences growing up as a young Black nerd, and the speculative fiction phenomenon.

Over the next six months, my pocket of space-time on Blerd-Out will explore the intersections of technology, speculative fiction, Black/African-American culture, and their roots and ties to ancient African traditions of technology, science, and cosmology.

R. 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).”

Posted on

Easy to Follow Tips For Black Women Aspiring to Launch a Tech Startup

It’s great to see diversity numbers moving upward in the tech industry, but most tech startups are still founded by white men. At times, it may feel like a boys club, but there are ways to navigate the industry and do exceedingly well.

Here are three tips that I found profoundly useful when launching and growing my app, Around the Way.

Stop Waiting For Perfection To Launch.

We women have the tendency to make things perfect. Take a look at how long it takes us to leave the house in the morning — hair, outfit, nails, makeup. You get yourself “right” for the day.  That’s all well and fine for personal grooming, but in business (especially in tech) perfection is not a requirement. It may be a personal standard you set for yourself, but your business is  ever-evolving. Your goal is to launch something, anything, and iterate, iterate, iterate.

Do one thing well — your basic offering, then add on from there. Simple. It’s both enchanting and daunting to think of all the aspects your business can be. Just boil it down to your initial offering, launch and keep building.  The puzzle gets more intricate as you add more on to your product, which can push back your launch date.

Before launching Around the Way, I had tons of ideas about what I wanted it to be. I wanted merchants to sell items through the app, I wanted a deals section, I wanted articles, stats and facts —  I wanted all of it in my initial product. But I had to scale it back to the essence of the offering. My original goal was to make it easy to find Black-owned businesses. So my initial product is just that- an easy way to find BOBs.

Don’t get me wrong, I still want those things.  But now, they’re on an implementation schedule. Had I waited for all of those bells and whistles, I would not have launched the app by now. For me, no launch would have meant, no downloads, no speaking engagements, no awards. For the BOBs, no launch would have meant no inclusion in the mobile space ,and no new customers finding their businesses using the app.

All of the advantages would’ve been delayed had I been perfecting my app before launching.

Share Your Idea

You may very well have the next billion-dollar idea that will revolutionize the way we all work or play, but if you don’t share it, no one will ever know about it. No one will ever help you. Your idea will never blossom to a real business. You will not make the billion. That’s the long and short of it.

Tell the world what you’re up to. It’s a disservice to your awesomeness to keep it to yourself. Not one successful person reached their goals by keeping their ideas to themselves. Not one.

I had to get over my fear of someone stealing my idea. I figured if I shared my app idea with app developers, they could go home and make it that evening. I had to realize that I could tell 20 developers about my idea and they could build it that night, but they will never do it exactly the same way I would. Our passions and dedication to the app are unmatched.

After I understood that, it was GAME ON! I told the world about my idea. And when I did, the floodgates of support opened. Had I not done that, I would not have created the app. I met my original app developer, chief marketing officer and chief technology officer each at different networking events.

I’d just be a gal with an idea, had I not shared it with others.

Know When To Be A Black Woman.

As I said earlier, the tech community may “feel” like a boys club – but that’s just a feeling. Yes, there are more guys than gals, but so what?  Make sure you go to those events where there are primarily white men. Get uncomfortable. Share your idea. You never know what could come of it. You never know who you’ll meet or who they know or who may be able to help you.

Also, it’s rarely said, but someone has to do it: Stop wearing your Blackness on your sleeve.

I’m not a Black app developer. I developed an app – I just so happen to be Black. The same goes for being a woman. Putting gender-race first is a slippery slope. In some realms, this approach can be an advantage, in others, a disadvantage.

When you’re a member of a “Black women business empowerment group,” sure, glom all your “Black women-ness” all over the room- everyone’s basking in it. Or in a pitch event solely for women – yes, girl power!

But don’t head to those primarily white techy rooms solely as a Black woman. You’re a dope person with a dope business looking to connect with other dope people. Period. Don’t let your “demographic” get in the way of expanding yourself, your business or your network.

In case you’ve forgotten, Black people originated cool (IMHO). Who doesn’t like hanging out with cool people? Networking sounds hoity-toity, but it’s really a matter of  asking yourself, “Who do I like talking to?” “Who do I mesh well with?” “Did we have a great conversation?”

That’s who people like doing business with – someone they can have a beer with. Don’t get all weird with your own apprehensions or fears. Remember how awesome you are! And all you really want to do is expand your network with other awesome people.

I hated “those white techy events” when I first started out. I felt more comfortable talking to my own people. I would go to Black tech events, women events, and Black women in tech events (see how small my bubble shrank?). And those all feel good, they’re comfortable, and there is great opportunity to meet amazing people.

But then I challenged myself to get outside of my comfort zone, join “those white techy meetup groups” and attend those VC pitch events. It wasn’t fun at first. I can’t lie, I’ve actually been to events where I send the RSVP, paid, showed up, put on a name-tag, watched the pitch event, spoke to NO ONE, and left. That was a complete waste of time.

I remember one tech event where there were a panel of investors and established tech entrepreneurs and I finally mustered up the courage to ask a question on the mic. It took some in-my-head coaching to get me to do it, but I did it. My voice was trembling – but I did it. My question was borderline remedial- but I did it. That was a breakthrough for me.

Once I accomplished that, I had no problem talking to people. After that awkward question, I chatted with a few people and left that event a whole new person.

The fact of the matter is- at tech events- we’re all building something. That’s our common ground. We’re all in the same boat. It’s the part we lose sight of when we wear our “Black-womenness” on our sleeve.

Get to know people- see what they’re up to, share what you’re up to. Because we’re all really up to something big.

Janine Hausif is the founder of Around the Way- a mobile application that locates Black-owned businesses and works as a business consultant for non-profits and small businesses. http://hellojanine.com

Posted on

The Best Apps You Need to Know Designed By Black Developers

We all love the apps on our phone or mobile tablet and there are tons of them that make our lives simpler. What’s even better is that many apps were created by Black developers.

Take a look at 10 great apps that were created by us and for us.

HBCU Buddy

Founders: Jonecia Keels and Jazmine Miller

Purpose: Provides prospective and current students with information about historically Black colleges and universities on aspects of student life, admissions, alumni, standardized test scores and faculty research. The app also has virtual campus tours and integrates social networking with Twitter and Facebook.

Why You Need It: Founders Keels and Miller are Spelman College alum and used their love of technology and HBCU culture to create HBCU Buddy, which won the 2010 AT&T Mobile Campus Challenge with a $10, 000 prize.

In addition to the feel-good story, this app is perfect for any young person considering attending an HBCU, or for alumni who want to keep up with their alma mater. 

HopStop 

Founder: Chinedu Echeruo

Purpose: HopStop gives those who live in metropolitan areas simple and easy directions on how to navigate by public transit, walking, taking a cab or biking.

Why You Need It: Developed by a Nigerian who’s a former Wall Street analyst, Time magazine included the app on its list of 50 Best iPhone Apps of 2011. If you live in a major city or plan to visit one and will be using public transportation, HopStop is perfect to avoid getting lost.

Around the Way

Founder: Clearly Innovative

Purpose: Around the Way is an app that is meant to support Black-owned businesses. The app can locate 17,000 black-owned businesses in 50 states and will help users find the nearest in their area. The app can find businesses such as ATMs and banks, auto shops, bakery and cafés, beauty parlors and barbershops, clubs and lounges, laundry-dry cleaners, lodgings, restaurants and shopping.

Why You Need It:  Lots of people express the desire to support either small businesses or Black-owned businesses. Now with Around the Way, you can do both. Created by Clearly Innovative, a Black-owned mobile app firm based in Washington, D.C., the goal is to empower Black businesses by giving potential customers a point of purchase.

Bid Whist 

Founder: Jerod Motley

Purpose: Bid Whist is a popular card game that you can now play on your mobile device.

Why You Need It: If you like card games, this app’s for you. Now you can enjoy the game you’ve most likely played plenty of times in an app created by a Black developer.

Myavana

Founder: Techturized Inc. , co-founders Candace Mitchell, Jessica Watson, Chanel Martin, Joy Boulamwini

Purpose: Myavana is a hair app for African-American women that encourages users to form communities based on hair textures and desired hairstyles. Women can upload hairstyles, share beauty tips about styling products and techniques, and salons. Also, users can follow desired hairstyles by “Girlfriending” other users who post images with that style. Each time a Girlfriend request is accepted, the community can follow that user’s hair journey and learn her hair secrets.

Why You Need It: Founded by Georgia Tech graduates who are all Black women and knowledgeable about the challenges faced when changing hairstyles. This app provides women with a sense of community and can offer tips on haircare.

Black History Milestones

Founder: Blue Sodium Corp. , (co-founders Nnanna Obuba and  Chidi Oparah).

Purpose: Black History Milestones is an app that presents a collection of important milestones in African-American history that aim to educate and inspire you.

Why You Need It: If you enjoy history, specifically Black history, you’ll like that this app will serve as a daily reminder of the rich history of African-Americans.

Iman Cosmetics 

Founder: Iman

Purpose: Renowned supermodel Iman is the founder and CEO of Iman Cosmetics, which are designed for African-American, Latina and Asian women. The Iman cosmetics app provides a “one-stop shop” for all your beauty needs using patented color-matching technology.

Why You Need It: This is perfect for a woman who loves makeup or has a hard time finding her shade. It’s easy to just upload your picture to the app and get customized Iman product recommendations that match your complexion and style.

Bill Organizer- Manage & Track Your Bills

Founder: Blue Sodium Corp. (co-founders Nnanna Obuba and Chidi Oparah)

Purpose: This app can organize, track and manage your bills, as well as notify you when bills are due. It can sync among devices and its other features include reminders when bills are due, monthly money reports, and a full history of all bills ever created.

Why You Need It: You can never go wrong with an app that helps you keep the bills paid, and it is great for people who like to actually see where their money is going.

A Song for Miles

Founder: Diverse Mobile, LLC

Purpose: Children learn the meaning of determination, kindness and love through soul music from the likes of singing sensations Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Earth, Wind & Fire. It nurtures a child’s inquisitive nature and love for music and sounds, while teaching the importance of good character.

Why You Need It: This is first storybook application that uses Black soul music artists who influenced the songs we listen to today. Developed by a Black-owned development company in Atlanta, A Song for Miles includes features such as digital links that pop off the screen, and interactive links to iTunes to purchase featured music. This is an ideal digital book for parents to read to children, especially if they enjoy music.

Ashti Meets Birdman Al

Founder: Diverse Mobile, LLC

Purpose: This storybook featuring music by jazz singer Al Jarreau is about a little girl named Ashti, who, while at the park with her mother, meets Birdman Al, an elderly man who is concerned about saving the jazz program at his former elementary school. His dilemma leads Ashti to her big idea. Children learn traits such as compassion, respect and responsibility while being exposed to jazz artists such as Billie Holliday, Thelonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Cab Calloway.

Why You Need It: Another digital storybook that exposes children to music while teaching them how to be good people will keep the little one in your life entertained not only through reading but also with classic music.