Recently, Morehouse College and Georgia Tech hosted Platform Summit 2014 to explore diversity in technology. The conference followed revelations by many top-technology companies that the percentage of underrepresented minorities in their ranks is in the single digits. Conference speakers the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Janelle Monae, Van Jones, Ralph de la Vega and others drove dialogue and solutions around this issue.
The summit was unique for emotionally connecting with its audience. Organizers felt that to move the needle, the summit must resonate with attendees’ humanity and speak to their life perspectives. As a result, the level of enthusiasm was momentous. Participants shared speakers’ insights at a staggering clip, with nearly 3 million references to “#platform2014” across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Jones said, “At Platform, there was a feeling that we reached a critical mass around the issue of diversity in tech. Everyone was so moved by speakers’ stories, revelations and insights that we were crying, laughing and, most importantly, excitedly planning to transform the current industry.”
A few highlights:
• Rev. Jackson put diversity in tech in context by tying it to the history of the civil rights movement.
• Topper Carew, a filmmaker, urban designer and director, introduced the concept of cultural audacity. He explained that as technology becomes more accessible and black culture is increasingly perceived as cool, there will be an explosion in creativity driven by the black community.
• Mike Blake, former associate director of public engagement at the White House, told the story of a young black boy who asked President Barack Obama if he could touch his hair — poignantly illustrating that kids need to see people who are like them in positions of power.
• Monae discussed “Afrofuturism,” the importance of including minorities in fictional depictions of the future because art dramatically impacts reality.
Platform Summit 2014 created a new ecosystem of community. Attendees had the rare opportunity to engage with diverse and influential entrepreneurs, technologists and business people in one place for the first time.
“Throughout Platform, I ran into important business colleagues that I hadn’t seen in years and inspiring industry leaders,” said Lucinda Martinez, senior vice president of multicultural marketing for HBO. “The relationships I developed with some of the smartest, most forward-thinking people on the planet will spark collaborations for years to come.”
Atlanta was this year’s summit location because it’s an ideal place to grow a diverse ecosystem. Not only is there a significant minority presence in the city, there are a slew of venerable institutions. From historically black colleges like Morehouse, Spellman and Clark, to universities like Emory and Georgia Tech, there’s no place like Atlanta for educating minority students.
Morehouse College President John Wilson was a key driver in moving this year’s conference to Atlanta.
“When I spoke at Platform Summit 2013 at MIT, I was so excited by the organization’s mission and its alignment with my goal of turning Morehouse into a STEM powerhouse, that I suggested bringing the event to Atlanta and Morehouse College,” he said. “Atlanta is truly an unmatched center of African-American education and is fueling a pipeline of brilliant, highly educated, technologically focused minorities in the workforce.”
Platform Summit 2014 was clearly a tremendous success. But it is only the beginning. Inspired speakers and attendees are spreading the word about this critical issue and forming alliances to make real change and create opportunities.
From Silicon Valley in California to Silicon Alley in New York and beyond, solutions are in the works that will make the tech industry more inclusive and relevant to diverse tech users and producers around the globe.
Hank Williams is the founder of Platform, a nonprofit created to increase the interest and participation of those underrepresented in the innovation economy.
