2018 Authors/Essays

Racial Equity Is Not an Add-On: Getting Diversity Right for Our Communities and Our Economy

Karla Monterroso
Acting CEO, Code2040

Allison Jones
Director of Marketing and Communications, Code2040

At this stage in the “diversity in the workplace” conversation, the business case has been made. Time and time again, researchers have provided hard metrics that support the inclusion of women, people of color, and others who bring unique perspectives—and rarely has doing the right thing so closely aligned with doing the most profitable thing. But many companies still find themselves struggling to enact the cultural change required to drive this type of change forward within their organizations. And we’re starting to see a backlash among some in Silicon Valley who are sick of hearing they need more women and people of color in their ranks.

Joseph Okpaku
Vice President, Government Relations, Lyft

Twitter: @JosephOkpaku

For people living in lower-income neighborhoods, what is the single most determinative factor in economic upward mobility? Crime? Education? Jobs?

Not according to studies out of Harvard and NYU which found that “commuting time has emerged as the single strongest factor in the odds of escaping poverty.”

Spencer Overton
President, The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies

Twitter: @SpencerOverton

Today, we stand at the crossroads of opportunity. If we do nothing, automation and other technologies could displace Black workers and increase racial disparities. But with strategic positioning that accurately predicts the skills and jobs that will be in demand, we can harness automation to increase prosperity and opportunity for the Black community.

Valarie Shultz-Wilson
President & CEO, Urban League of Southern Connecticut

Twitter: @UrbanLeagueSoC1

For many low-income mothers timing out of welfare-to-work programs, they face a future where they do not possess the credentials and technological skills necessary to secure 21st century jobs. New collar jobs require an easy familiarity with high levels of automation. Employers routinely seek workers with college degrees in science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics (STEAM) and companies are increasingly relying on non-permanent, agile talent, e.g., temporary workers, consultants, and freelancers, all of which places a greater burden on workers to be competitive in our global job market.

Nnena Ukuku
Partner, Venture Gained
Owner, Simplicity@Legal
Founder, Black Founders Start Up Community

Twitter:@nukuku

In our never-ending quest to “secure the bag,” many of us may have contemplated owning the popular, media darling Bitcoin. But rather than collect these (bit)coins, it would better serve communities of color to own the technology that powers Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies.

Martin Whittaker, CEO, JUST Capital

Twitter: @justcapital

Hernando Cortina, Director of Indexes & Analytics, JUST Capital

Twitter: @justcapital

One of the most pernicious ironies of the technology boom in America has been that despite its progressive ideals and socially-conscious intentions, not to mention the huge amounts of wealth it has created, the tech sector has underperformed when it comes to advancing the economic and social prospects of communities of color and promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Cracking Tech’s Diversity Code

Darnell L. Williams
President and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts

Facebook: @ULEM

Technology is one of the fastest growing industries in Massachusetts and its largest employer. Last year, the tech sector in Massachusetts added 9,400 jobs to the economy, but far too often a large swath of the population was excluded from these job opportunities.

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A Head Start Increases Science Aptitude and Future Success

Michael P. McMillan
President & Chief Executive Officer, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis

Twitter: @MMULSTL

The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis' Head Start/Early Head Start (ULHS) program is a comprehensive early childhood education program that provides services to 672 children from birth to age five. A particular focus is placed on school-readiness, early childhood education, family and community engagement, and health and nutrition services.

Phyllis Y. Nichols
President & Chief Executive Officer, Knoxville Area Urban League

Twitter: @pynichols

Nearly every national data report indicates that women and students of color remain underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The Knoxville Area Urban League believes changing that trajectory is a shared responsibility. In that vein, we partnered with Youth Outreach in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (Yo-STEM), a program dedicated to exposing students from underserved communities to the growing world of STEM.

Arva R. Rice
President & Chief Executive Officer, New York Urban League

Twitter: @arvarice

A few years ago, I attended a national conference focused on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) that singlehandedly transformed the focus of our affiliate. One of the consistent themes of the conference was the dearth of Black and brown students and adults in the sector. After the first hour, I also noted the dearth of people of color attending the event. By the end of the conference, I felt compelled to weave STEAM into our existing programs by seeking relevant partnerships and creating programs to address this crisis head on.

The Answer Lies Within STEM

David L. Steward
Chairman & Founder
World Wide Technology, Inc.

We all know the problems all too well for this nation—and especially for Black America.

We are all subject to the globalization that has advanced at a very rapid pace over the past two decades. This has occurred primarily due to technological advancement, which has driven immense global economic growth. In an equal world, this would not be a problem; it would actually be fantastic news. In fact, it is fantastic news for those individuals and nations who are well-positioned to take advantage of that economic prosperity.

To take full advantage of this economic boom, both nations and individuals must be equipped with the knowledge, education, skills, experience and creativity to leverage the opportunities that exist today and in the future. Therein lies the problem for many U.S. citizens—especially Black Americans.

Dr. Myiesha Taylor
Founder, Artemis Medical Society

Twitter: @ArtemisMedSoc

Throughout the history of our nation’s civil rights movement, images played an important role in conveying the struggle for equality. In this era of widespread media access, near universal adoption of social media platforms and the rapid dissemintation of content, images hold an even greater importance in conveying messages—both good and bad.

Thomas Warren Sr.
President and CEO of the Urban League of Nebraska

Facebook: @urbanleagueneb

The Urban League of Nebraska (ULN) administers programs in education and youth development, offering supplemental and enrichment opportunities for high school students. One of our signature programs is the Whitney M. Young Jr. Leadership Academy, a college preparatory program. Under the leadership of Nicole Mitchell, the program’s coordinator, she operates a Girls Summer STEAM Academy in collaboration with the Omaha Public Schools District.

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New Era, Same Struggle: Confronting Fresh and Familiar Challenges in the Digital Age

Congressman Cedric L. Richmond
Chairman, Congressional Black Caucus; Louisiana – 2^nd Congressional District

Twitter: @RepRichmond

Technological advancements have created numerous economic and social opportunities—and ancillary challenges. This Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), has been focused on finding ways to advance the former and address the latter. We want to make sure that African Americans and other marginalized communities aren’t left behind in a nation and world that are becoming increasingly connected.

Judson W. Robinson III
President & Chief Executive Officer, Houston Area Urban League

Twitter: @HouUrbanLeague

Over the past 50 years, we have seen immense changes and improvements in technology—from cell phones and the internet becoming commonplace in the 1990s to social media becoming the norm in the early 2000s. Over the last decade, the Houston Area Urban League has had to adjust with the times and make a seemingly inevitable transition, transforming into a digital agency that utilizes emerging technology to communicate with stakeholders and serve our community.

Shari Runner
President and CEO of the Chicago Urban League

Twitter: @ChiUrbanLeague

After more than 100 years of service, the Chicago Urban League is a well-known entity in many circles, but it is not uncommon for Black Chicagoans to have little knowledge of the actual work of the organization. In fact, it is not uncommon for Black Americans to have little knowledge or an antiquated view of the work of the Urban League movement in general.

Sonal Shah
Executive Director, Professor of Practice, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Georgetown University

Twitter: @SonalRShah

Marta Urquilla
Deputy Director, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Georgetown University

Twitter: @MartaUrquilla

Dr. Hollie Russon Gilman
Senior Fellow, Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation, Georgetown University

Twitter: @hrgilman

Our society is creating and consuming data faster and more than ever before. Ninety percent of today’s data was produced in the last two years. From enabling companies to produce better, cheaper products, to putting banking, transport, and food services at our fingertips, data is transforming our everyday transactions and experiences. Like a watchful neighbor, data knows our comings and goings, who we vote for, when we go for our daily run, and our favorite takeout. What data knows is highly valued. So much so, that data, not oil, is now the world’s most valuable resource, as reported by The Economist magazine. What does this shift mean for society, and how can government leverage data’s value for the benefit of communities of color?

Dr. Nicol Turner-Lee
Center for Technology Innovation Fellow, Brookings Institution

Twitter: @drturnerlee

More than 90% of the U.S. population is connected to the internet and regularly engages its transformative and transactional capacities. Despite this positive trajectory in digital access, recent data from the Pew Research Center shares that 11% of Americans are still not online[1] These non-internet users are disproportionately people of color, low-income, less literate, seniors, and geographically isolated within rural areas. The reasons for their marginal internet use are largely due to a lack of interest, the cost of broadband services, and the inability to secure an affordable device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or computer.[2]

John C. Yang
President & Executive Director
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC

Twitter: @johncyangdc

We are on the advent of significant technological progress where machines and systems will make decisions based on learning from examples and concrete data sets. The positive implication of building processes on algorithms is that technology companies will have the ability to build better digital applications that interact with human-made objects, such as photos and online searches. The first step in creating an algorithm requires providing a program with lots and lots of data. However, when data is completely lacking for a community of color, this group simply does not exist in the digital space.

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