Black History Month 2023: Celebrating Influential Black Americans In Tech

In time for Black History Month 2023, CRN is featuring a sampling of the achievements of Black Americans in the field of computer science and technology.

Some of the people featured on this list include:

*Frank S. Greene Jr.

*Shirley Ann Jackson

*Otis Boykin

*Marian Croak

*Mark Dean

Some new names added to the list from last year include:

*Evelyn Boyd Granville

*Granville Woods

*Shelby Davidson

This list includes past and recent contributions to technology, whether by invention or business acumen.

While we celebrate these contributions in history, it’s important to remember that much more work remains to increase Black representation in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

A January report from McKinsey estimates that 40 percent of Black American households lack high-speed, fixed broadband compared to 28 percent of white American households. In cities such as Chicago and Baltimore, Black households are twice as likely to lack a high-speed internet subscription compared to white ones.

Black History Month 2023

Thirty-eight percent of Black households in the rural South lack broadband compared to 23 percent of white ones, according to the report. Sixty-nine percent of Black Americans have desktop computers or laptops compared to 80 percent of white Americans.

And about half of Black workers have advanced or proficient digital skills needed for the tech-driven economy compared to 77 percent of white workers. Black Americans are 13 percent of all workers but only 7.4 percent of digital workers.

Some steps for increasing broadband access and encouraging digital equity and inclusion for Black communities, according to the report, include surveying unserved and underserved locations to make sure they receive some of $425 billion-plus in federal funding available for closing the digital divide.

McKinsey also suggests seeking out partnerships among private enterprises, not-for-profit organizations, academia and government agencies to close the gap and partnering with local stakeholders to ensure households can access subsidies for internet subscriptions and devices.

Organizations that seek to increase diversity in the field include:

*Sales for the Culture (S4TC)

*Black Women Talk Tech

*Black Women in Science and Engineering (BWISE)

*Information Technology Senior Management Forum (ITSMF)

*Black Career Women’s Network

*BlackJobs.com

*HBCU Connect

*Black Data Processing Associates (BDPA)

*Black Tech Nation (BTN)

*Blacks United in Leading Technology (BUiLT)

*Blacks in Technology (BIT)