National Black Tech Ecosystem Builder Association
Building a movement of black tech activists and black tech ecosystem builders to eradicate racial tech disparities and create black joy futures. We accomplish this by aligning black tech activist organizations with black community impact organizations within cities, assessing their black tech ecosystems, developing a funnel of financial resources, creating spaces for black tech activists to share best practices across cities, and developing a hyper local and national policy agenda. The Association will empower on-the-ground black tech activists and black tech ecosystem builders to eradicate racial tech disparities in their cities by helping them to strengthen their local black tech ecosystems.
A Black Tech Ecosystem is an ecology of institutions within black communities that are optimized and aligned to expedite the growth of black innovation which are populated by black tech founders, innovators, scientists, creatives, faith leaders, public interest technologists, and community tech leaders.
The National Black Tech Ecosystem Builder Association will unite black tech startup support organizations, black faith communities, K thru 12th Black STEAM educators, HBCUs, black civic tech organizations, and black technology organizations. As part of building a robust Black tech ecosystem, we will:
Develop a National Black Tech Ecosystem Builder Fellowship that will fund black tech ecosystem builders to go into cities and align conversations and actions around equity.
Support the Digital Equity Act of 2019 and Congresswoman Barbara Lee's Computer Science for All Act.
Encourage local municipal policies that will allow communities to easily identity and tap into dark fiber or community driven mesh networks
Partner with faith tech communities like the Fellowship of Affirming Ministries to create #BlackChurch Futures to translate this new world of technology to African Americans.
Form public policy recommendations from these open letters from Black STEM and Computer Science organizations: Blacks in Computing and Out Allies for Equity and Fairness, Black Tech for Black Lives, and STEMforBlackLives.
Disrupt the narrative that Black people’s mobile phone usage will solve the digital divide by examining black people's smartphone portability rates (e.g. Changing providers and phones due to cost).
Lobby every mayor and city-wide chamber in conducting a black tech ecosystem assessment of their city’s ability to create a thriving black tech ecosystem, and support this like we support Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) regional blueprint for creating a stronger, more diverse economy.
What YOU can do today: Join the movement.