Black Tech Week Makes a Splash In Miami

CREDIT: Instagram

Black nerds or “blerds” and tech entrepreneurs from all over the country, gathered in sunny Miami to kick off the second annual Black Tech Week conference to celebrate and discuss the role of people of color in technology.

NBC News reports the event was co-founded by husband and wife duo Felecia Hatcher and Derick Pearson. The couple began their love for innovation and new wave technology when they created ‘Code Fever’ in 2014, an organization devoted to teaching young Black youth how to code. The conference aims to increase the amount of people of color in technology and start-up companies. Hatcher and Pearson also plan to change the conversation surrounding African-Americans and encourage tech creativity during Black History Month.

The event kicked off Monday (Feb 15) and concludes this Sunday (Feb 20.)

Black Tech Week comes as numbers were released this year showing the disparaging make up in Silicon Valley. While the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in America is Black women, people of color make up 9 percent of the technology industry and less than 1 percent of technology company founders, The Miami Herald reports.

Hatcher and Pearson plan to change this with speakers from tech and media companies like Metalayer and Maybach Music Group. Other speakers include Trick Daddy, former Twitter engineer Leslie Miley and White House policy advisor Dr. Marvin Carr.

Miley, who was the only African-American in a leadership position at the company cited his departure last year over diversity issues. Hatcher shared the importance of speaking out to the untapped talent Silicon Valley has failed to explore.

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SOURCE: Vibe – Desire Thompson