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The National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference is an event where the HBCU community comes together to envision how to combat the barriers it faces while also being given its flowers for its persistent advancement through it all. The annual conference is under the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
A new technology center is making its way to Atlanta! Nike exclusively shared with AfroTech that the Atlanta Technology Center is set to open its doors in the metro city’s Midtown neighborhood in early 2023 and will include three Centers of Excellence focused on the following disciplines: Logistics & Supply Chain, Cybersecurity, and Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. The mission is spearheaded by Dr. Mona-Lisa Pinkney — a senior technology leader in Nike’s Corporate Information Security department. She will offer her expertise to help raise the next generation of leaders through tech. “Personally, I am passionate about gender and racial equity in STEM and have dedicated time to help drive change – from founding the Black Women in STEM 2.0 nonprofit and serving on the Women in Cybersecurity Racial Equity Committee to establishing an endowment to provide scholarships for underrepresented students in the College of Engineering at my Alma mater, North Carolina State University,”...
For over a year now, the connectivity gap in American homes and schools has been jarring to see as many students all over the country have struggled to gain access to educational tech devices and strong internet connections. In an effort to close the connectivity gap amongst U.S. students, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced the launch of a $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund to help schools and libraries purchase technology and resources like laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers and broadband connections for schooling. According to a press release, this marks the agency and country’s largest effort to close the homework gap and connect American students to the tools they need to support their education. “Even before the coronavirus pandemic upended so much of day-to-day life, seven in ten teachers were assigning homework that required access to the internet,” FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel shared in a press statement. “But data...
Comcast is committed to equipping low-income Americans will the tools and resources needed to succeed in the digital world. As the company celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Internet Essentials program, an announcement was made that it would invest $1 billion over the next 10 years to help close the digital divide. Since 2011, the company has collaborated with its network of thousands of nonprofit partners to connect more than 10 million people in America to broadband Internet at home — the overwhelming majority did not have a connection prior to signing up. The $1 billion commitment includes investments in numerous critical areas that include: additional support for its ongoing Lift Zone initiative which will provide WiFi-connected safe spaces in 1,000+ community cities nationwide by the end of 2021; new laptop and computer donations; grants for nonprofit community organizations to create opportunities for low-income Americans, and more. “Ten years is a remarkable milestone,...
Bridging the digital divide amongst underserved communities is essential to giving everyone in the nation equal access to critical communications networks. According to Verizon’s latest initiative, the telecommunications company has created a way to make reliable, high-speed internet more accessible to those in underserved communities who meet financial assistance requirements through Verizon Fios Forward. A news release shares the Fios Forward program was first offered to new customers back in April 2020, and generates much faster and more equipped internet services, unlike traditional home Internet assistance programs. It also offers eligible customers a discounted rate for faster internet service. The goal of the program is to rid customers of unreliable internet providers who limit their access to quality home internet, which often lacks speed and the capacity to handle more than one user’s demands. This has become an increased issue over the last year due to many citizens...
The U.S. consumer technology industry generates hundreds of billions in revenue each year. From Silicon Alley to Silicon Valley, the tech industry represents the pinnacle of success. Yet minorities remain critically underrepresented in the field, drastically cutting billions in potential tech revenue. Studies conducted by TechRepublic between 2014 and 2018 revealed the low percentages of non-Asian, minority workers at major tech companies, such as Google, Twitter, Pinterest, and eBay. A more recent study by Statista shows minority representation in the tech industry increasing slowly and steadily, but not enough to match the number of youth exploring the field. Nathan Dudley, an alumnus of The Hidden Genius Project, convinces a Bank of America employee to invest in the pivotal program. That is where programs such as The Hidden Genius Project have stepped in and made their mark. The Oakland-based program is the brainchild of Executive Director Brandon Nicholson and several other...
The Harvard Political Review raised questions recently about the fact that two of the most prominent college entrance exams, the ACT and the SAT, are now offering digital versions of the classic exams — and what that means for those affected by the digital divide that still exists. Although our world is shifting to a digital-first reality, the fact of the matter is that not all students have the same access to technology or the same level of digital reading comprehension. Therefore reading and executing the test on a computer can pose a larger challenge for some students than others. In general, research shows that digital reading tests differ from reading on paper because our brains engage in a different way, making it so we don’t engage with reading the same across platforms. Because of the ways many schools are evaluated based on test scores, this might also suggest that the change could force some schools scrambling to focus on sharpening students’ computer skills immediately....