Technology Expresso Cafe Interviews Wayne 'Villager' Hicks

David Blackman and Jacqueline Sanders are the co-founders of Technology Expresso Cafe, a multimedia platform that promotes all aspects of the IT industry with a focus on BDPA programs, scholarships and services.

Wayne 'Villager' Hicks

An Internet radio interview was conducted with BDPA Education and Technology Foundation executive director Wayne Hicks, however, due to technical difficulties, the show was never archived. David and Jacqueline were kind enough to post a complete transcript of the interview on their website.

Click here to read Part 1 & 2 of the interview.

Click here to read Part 3 & 4 of the interview.

Are Black People Becoming 21st Century Digital Slaves?

by Phillip Jackson
The Black Star Project

If you are not able to code and if you are not computer literate, you are pretty much a 21st century digital slave. If you don't have access to and are using the internet for personal growth and development, you are pretty much a 21st century digital slave. If you are not encouraging your schools to teach coding and computer literacy to your children, and if you are not allowing your children to learn, read and write code, you are promising your children 21st century digital slavery.

Phillip Jackson

If your children are playing video games, rather than creating video games, they too, will be consigned to 21st century digital slavery. If you are not learning coding yourself, you have relegated yourself to the old way of being educated and the old way of existing. You have made yourself obsolete. You have volunteered to be a 21st century digital slave!

It is time for all people, but especially Black people, to run away from digital slavery to digital freedom and digital excellence! The most widely spoken language in world in the near future is not going to be English, Chinese, Hindi, Swahili or Spanish-it is going to be a language of computer coding. People in every country will speak this language. 90% of all new jobs in the world will require employees to speak this language. You will not be able to live (well) anywhere in the world without this language.

The Black Star Project will offer introductory classes to coding and computer literacy during the holidays. Effective education can no longer occur just between 8:30 am and 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday, for 200 school days a year. Learning has become too important to leave to schools! Learning must be driven by parents, families and communities, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year!

Learning is no longer a local activity, but a global imperative. Just as some slaves became accustomed to chattel slavery, some people are becoming accustomed to the new 21st century digital slavery. The only way to break these bonds that rob people of dignity and freedom are with "new learning".

Black Tech Digest Seeks to Stomp the Digital Divide

Blacks In Technology recently announced the launch of its new website -- BIT Tech Digest. BIT Tech Digest is the first online technology driven publication featuring articles written entirely by minority technology experts. The new site reflects Blacks In Technology’s continued effort and mission to increase the visibility of the Black technologist by establishing effective communication among Black people in the field to help drive individual growth, development and long-term success in the technology industry.

Greg Greenlee

The BIT Tech Digest features content focused on a variety of technology topics including networking, virtualization, software design and development and professional advancement. The BIT Tech Digest will also highlight technology news and information about today’s minority tech entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations.

Greg Greenlee, founder of the Blacks In Technology community site and the BIT Tech Digest, believes the site will change the perception of how today’s engineers and technologists are visualized by providing an outlet for Blacks and other minority technology professionals and enthusiasts to share their expertise and experience.

BIT Tech Digest was launched as a live Google+ hangout. You can view the recorded event here: BIT Tech Digest Live Launch Event.



You can follow BIT Tech Digest on Twitter: @BITTechDigest

If you’d like more information about the BIT Tech Digest or are interested in sharing your knowledge with the community please contact Greg at info@bitdigest.net.

ITSMF: The Leadership Academy

The Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF) is a unique organization of African American executives in the information technology industry. They are currently recruiting IT professionals of color to participate in their 3-prong Leadership Academy.

ITSMF: The Leadership Academy

View more documents from Wayne Hicks

I encourage Villagers to share this information with any leaders you may know in the information technology industry.

Blacks In Technology Podcast #22: Sian Morson (Kollective Mobile)

We are very grateful to Greg Greenlee for his consistent efforts to provide us with greater insights into the technological genius of our time ... especially those of African descent. Greg does this with regular pod-casts that are published on the Blacks In Technology (BIT) website. A recent BIT podcast featured Sian Morson (CEO/Founder, Kollective Mobile)

Blacks In Technology Podcast #22 - Sian Morson

Sian Morson is a digital veteran and mobile evangelist who has been working in the interactive and digital fields since 1999. A project manager by trade, Sian moved through the ranks at some of the top advertising agencies in the world including Tribal DDB, Draft/FCB and McCann Erickson. She has managed the development of web properties and bleeding edge campaigns for international brands such as Philips, Coca-Cola and Aviva. She made the transition to mobile in early 2006 and hasn’t looked back. Sian formed Kollective Mobile, a mobile development agency, in 2010 and is a strong advocate for the early adoption of mobile across all platforms.

Sian has lectured, and written about mobile and its influence on such disparate sectors as art, small business, and the African American community. She is a regular contributor to Politic365 where she covers mobile and technology.

An internationally exhibited video-artist, Sian’s work centers on the topics of sex, race, and of course, technology. She holds a BFA in Film & Television from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and an MA in Electronic Arts from Middlesex University in London.

Most recently, Sian has hosted a panel on Art & Technology at the Festival of New Black Imagination’s inaugural event. Sian is consults regularly with start-ups on their mobile strategy and is available for speaking engagements.

Blacks In Technology Podcast #19: Kellep Charles (SecurityOrb.com)

This blog seeks to support the efforts of the Blacks In Technology folks as they interview remarkable IT professionals of color.

In this podcast Greg Greenlee along with guest co-host Ronnie Hash, speak with IT Security consultant and guru Kellep Charles. Kellep operates and is also an IT Security consultant for SecurityOrb, an information security knowledge based website for security members. The flows into information security, latest data security threats and an interesting review of the log management tool Splunk.

BIT Podcast #19 (Kellep Charles)

Kellep is a Doctoral student in Information Assurance. He also holds a Master of Science in Telecommunication Management from the University of Maryland University College and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from North Carolina A&T State University. Kellep works as a government contractor in the Washington DC area as a Network Security Analyst and is an Adjunct Professor at Capitol College in Laurel (MD) where he teaches in the Computer Science department.  He holds a CISSP certification.

Follow Kellep on Twitter @kellepc

Why Technology Networks Are Important to African Americans

by Kai Dupé

The lack of support networks has been identified as a critical aspect to involving more African Americans in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).  While I agree that this is very important, I do not agree that African Americans lack technology support groups.  I assert that the problem is that the African American community at large is not aware of the networks that do exist.

There are three that I have worked with over the years. I am sure there are others and I am even more certain that most of our people, particularly our young people are not aware of these groups.  I know this because I do quite a bit of public speaking around the country.  When I ask students if they are familiar with The Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA), BiTWiSE, or Blacks In Technology the answer is invariably no.

In all fairness, BiTWiSE and Blacks in Technology are recent developments.  But BDPA has been around since 1975.  I have been a professional software developer since 1986 and I only recently became aware of BDPA.  We must do a better job of making our folks aware of these organizations.

This is not an indictment against BDPA as I personally know that they make every effort to ensure that our people know about their good work.  The charge is ours.  Any time I speak to a young person who has demonstrated an interest in technology, the first question I ask is ‘where do you live’ and if BDPA has a chapter in that city, I direct him or her to contact the chapter in their area.

The abundance of knowledge, experiences and social capital that exists within BDPA must be leveraged if our community is to become a player in the global technology game.  As a speaker and blogger I am constantly receiving questions related to technology and how to get involved in the technology arena.

I am happy to answer these questions but how much better would it be for the learner to not only pose the question to a larger group but possibly someone who has experienced the same circumstance.  This is a common occurrence on the web community, Blacks In Technology (BIT).  BIT is a wonderful online community of Black technologists who are ready to share their stories, knowledge, wisdom and encouragement not only to those who are looking for others like themselves who are already involved in technology careers but also technology aspirants.

Without these kinds of support groups, African Americans in technology may began to deal with feelings of isolation.  I can attest to this circumstance personally.  Since I graduated from college with my undergraduate degree in computer science in 1986 I have rarely had the pleasure of working in an IT department with another African American.

This issue of isolation occurs in high school, the workplace as well as on college campuses.  It is also one of the main reasons that African Americans do not persist in STEM careers.

Many scholars studying this issue from S. Craig Watkins in his book The Young and the Digital as well as Jane Margolis in the book Stuck in the Shallow End have reported on the importance of support groups or networks to combat the issue of isolation.

I would have loved being a part of either of these groups when I first became a software engineer.  Why? Because it is great to be able to speak with someone who can relate to your circumstance.  Someone who can understand what you may be going through.

I can remember having to explain to members of my family and friends what exactly it was that I did as a computer programmer.  The people in my community simply did not understand that I was CREATING software, not using it!  I also never had anyone to talk shop with for the early years of my career.

This is why I am so excited about this third group, BiTWiSE, which is a networking group dedicated to the African American software engineer and is sponsored by Microsoft.  You can find BiTWiSE on LinkedIn under LinkedIn Groups.  You can simply search Groups and enter ‘BiTWiSE’.

Technology support groups do indeed exist in the African American community.  However they become less effective if they are unknown to the people who can benefit from them the most.  We must do a better job of promoting the efforts of these groups in order to remove yet another obstacle to the inclusion of African Americans participation in the digital society.

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 Kai Dupé is a doctoral student at Pepperdine University where he is conducting research on Why African American Males Are Underrepresented in Computing. Kai can be reached by email at kai.dupe@kaidupe.com or by visiting his website at www.WhereAreBlacksInTechnology.com or follow him on twitter @KaiDupe

Good News Tuesday: Turkenya Herring Uses Technology to Advance Her Education

BDPA exists to advance African Americans in the information technology industry from the classroom to the boardroom.  Turkenya Herring is a remarkable example of BDPA turning its vision into reality.   

The mainstream media usually focuses on the negative behaviors of Black youth in America.  This blog joins with Essential Presence, Tradition of Excellence and others who seek to share positive stories about our people.  

For example, I'd like villagers to know about Turkenya Herring -- a young woman who is quite possibly the future face of technology!

Turkenya was introduced to science, technology and mathematics training while she was in middle school.  She joined a robotics team with a BDPA sponsor, Patriots Technology Training Center.  

Her interest stayed with her as she matriculated to high school.  She connected with BDPA Washington DC chapter and their high school computer competition (HSCC).   She represented the chapter on its national HSCC team in 2007, 2008 and 2009.   She earned multiple Jesse Bemley Scholarships that will help her continue her education at Bowie State University.

Let her share her testimonial with you:

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Hello, my name is Turkenya Herring. I graduated in 2010 from Charles Herbert Flowers High School. I plan to attend Bowie State University. I will major in computer science with emphasis in information systems. I plan to pursue a career in networking or database management. I am proud to say that being a part of the high school computer competition has changed my outlook on society and the effects that science and technology has on businesses.

My first year in BDPA was spent meeting new people and learning how to grasp a concept at a very quick pace. I was very shy and far from gregarious. One of the instructors, Mr. Shack, knew I was very smart and always called on me to answer questions and stand up in front of the class to present my project. Eventually, I crawled out of my timid shell and began to converse amongst my peers and instructors. My instructors knew that I had potential to be one of the brightest students; my first year I was selected to compete in the national competition with four of my peers. I was elated and my parents were proud of my accomplishments.

In my second year, I was more motivated and cordial. My instructors and peers looked up to me and expected me to lead the path to success, which was to win 1st place that year. Unfortunately, we won 2nd place but I told everyone to stay motivated because one day we would become HSCC champions. Being in the competition was not about competing, it was about building friendship, learning how to present, showing compassion, and many other valuable skills that I will need in the workforce.

BDPA was the most life-changing experience I have encountered throughout my entire life. It has influenced me to become a computer scientist and give back to others. One day I plan to create and give away my own scholarships. I’ve gained a close relationship with my peers, mentors, and parents over the past three years. I know that I would never have become the knowledgeable, compassionate, cooperative, cordial person I am today if I had not joined this outstanding program.

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BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) provided Turkenya Herring with a Jesse Bemley Scholarship for her efforts in the national HSCC championships held in 2007, 2008 and 2009. We look forward to following her career over the coming years!

You can help us provide more scholarships in the future with a secure online donation.  Won't you make that move today?

Good News Tuesday: Andrea Grimes is the Future Face of Technology

Soulclap to Noire Digerati for pointing us to Andrea Grimes ... the Future Face of Technology! Andrea is a Ph.D. candidate in Human-Centered Computing at the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech University. Her research lies within the fields of human-computer interaction (HCI) and computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW).

A member of Associate Professor Beki Grinter's Work2Play Lab, Andrea's research involves studying aspects of human life to design technology that resonates with existing sociocultural landscapes. Much of her work has focused on designing technology to address diet-related health disparities in the African American population.

To this end, she studies how culture shapes health behaviors and attitudes, and how health technologies can account for this relationship. Her work has involved designing and evaluating a nutrition-oriented mobile game and community-based information sharing applications. Her other research includes examining the future of human-food interaction research in HCI and designing technologies to support family health.

Andrea earned her bachelor's in computer science from Northeastern University.

Some of Andrea's awards and honors include the following:

• Microsoft Research Graduate Fellowship, 2008-2010
• Yahoo! Key Technical Challenge Grant, 2008

This blog plans to share some good news about people of African descent each and every Tuesday. You can help ... let me know if you see a good news story that you think would inspire our Villagers!

Have You Checked Out 'Blacks In Technology' Website or Newsletter?

Advancing the careers of African Americans in the information technology industry from the classroom to the boardroom is something that we need to work 24/7/365.   I've been a member of BDPA Information Technology Thought Leaders for over 20 years. BDPA has been delivering in this area for over 35 years, however, there are other players in the field.   I invite villagers to check out the newsletter:

Blacks In Technology (BIT) Newsletter, Issue #1

View more documents from Wayne Hicks.

This new group wants to accomplish three specific things:

1. Deliver the most relevant and beneficial information and network for African American’s in the technology field or pursuing a career in technology.
2. Focus on creating a community in which African American’s are comfortable, motivated and inspired to pursue careers in technology.
3. Establish effective communicaton between African American’s in order to help drive individual growth, development and long-term success.

I would love to hear from any of the brothers or sisters that are working behind the scenes on this newsletter and the organization. I would also be interested to see how the Electronic Villager can support this effort.

All of us can learn more from their website.






At the end of the day I'm in favor of anyone who has a passion for people of African descent that seek to advance themselves in the information technology industry.  What are your thoughts about this new organization -- Blacks In Technology?