From a session on black women in the technology and media sectors to others on virtual reality, spatial computing and marketing, an annual festival in Miami this week aims to elevate people of color in the tech industry.
Attended by startup developers, government leaders and local high school students, BlackTech Week involves networking and discussions on how to create more opportunities for minority tech entrepreneurs.
It’s a way to help the black community “become a part of Miami’s startup and tech ecosystem,” BlackTech Week founder Felecia Hatcher said. “There some really amazing startups in Miami that aren’t part of the usual conversation and aren’t getting the resources.”
A session on Wednesday focused on how local governments and school districts can increase opportunities in the tech sector. Thursday will involve talks on business strategies, and Saturday will include a summit on the the use of innovative technologies in the cannabis industry.
Hatcher helped launch the conference in Miami in 2014, and it has since expanded to other major cities. She said although New York, San Francisco and Seattle are known as tech hubs, South Florida has attracted startups and bigger tech companies in recent years.
Still, some minority startup entrepreneurs in the region have struggled to attract attention. Miami also has several “innovation deserts” where certain black and Latino neighborhoods lack necessary resources to launch startups, Hatcher said. Without such access, residents have limited opportunities to join the tech sector.
It’s just like food deserts “where people are disconnected from fresh fruits and vegetables and having to often travel miles,” she said. “It sends a really negative message that innovation can’t happen in our neighborhoods.”
Hatcher said the goal is to create more working places and startup hubs in innovation deserts.
BlackTech Week is also supporting local students with big ambitions. Dillard High School 12th grader Alfanise Blackshire has a cosmetic business that develops acne-mitigation products. She wants to learn how to use engagement platforms to expand her company’s reach.
Rodner Exume, another 12th grader at Dillard, teamed up with other students to launch a business that makes magnetic door covers to enhance security. Inspired by school shootings like the one in Parkland last year, Exume said he hopes to expand the startup in his Fort Lauderdale neighborhood.
“I love the community that I’m from,” he said. “I really want to give back and help some way, somehow.”
At Wednesday's session on government involvement in the tech sector, Broward County schools superintendent Robert Runcie said computer coding classes are critical to launching more minorities into tech jobs.
About 500,000 computer jobs across the country remain unfilled, said Runcie, a board director for Code.org, a non-profit dedicated to expanding computer science training in schools. He touted Broward’s commitment to computer science, noting that more than 50,000 students learn about the subject.
“We’re trying to get all of you to become not just consumers," Runcie told a group of high school students on Wednesday. "We want you to be creators and control your own destiny."
Gov. Ron DeSantis has expressed a similar commitment to computer coding and tech training. His recently-unveiled budget proposal calls for $10 million to train computer science teachers, and he’s said the subject should count as a science credit toward high school graduation.
This story was updated on Thursday, Feb. 7 to reflect that Rodner Exume helped start a business with other students.
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