Stillman a premier partner for Black Tech Policy Week

Campus-incubated #BlackTechFutures Research Institute , Comcast and Diverse collaborate for free tech event

Black people face numerous barriers to working and leading in STEM fields and launching businesses, beginning with knowledge and access to resources.

A new partnership between the #BlackTechFutures Research Institute – incubated at Stillman College’s School of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Computational & Information Sciences – and sponsored by Comcast as the anchor sponsor, and Diverse Education as the media sponsor, aims to bridge that divide and grow connections between scholars, practitioners, industry leaders and communities.

Black Tech Policy Week will be held virtually April 25-29 and will offer attendees the opportunity to engage in “thoughtful, provocative conversations about Black tech ecosystems and digital equity.”

The four-day event features live-streamed panel discussions that explore the policies that amplify Black tech futures, Black digital entrepreneurship, funding, racial tech disparities, and the merging field of “public interest technology,” with a keen focus on how HBCUs can be catalysts for national change.

These discussions will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. CT each night. Registration and attendance are free.

  • Funding strategies between foundations and federal agencies
  • Leveraging federal funding to build Black tech ecosystems
  • HBCUs driving public interest technology
  • Black women in tech
  • Telehealth for Black communities

Isaac McCoy, dean of Stillman’s School of Business, Entrepreneurship, and C.I.S., will be among the featured panelists. Stillman President Dr. Cynthia Warrick will deliver opening remarks.

McCoy said the Institute, funded by a grant from the Kauffman Foundation, has provided collaborative research and engagement opportunities for faculty, along with invaluable data and insight on how to create Black tech ecosystems, both on and off campus.

McCoy praised the work of Dr. Fallon Wilson, co-founder and principal investigator for the Institute, which is operational in four cities across three states. The Institute educates communities about tech opportunities and resources, while equipping them to address “inequitable policies with data and research.”

“When you talk about changing the mindset and the narrative, our institutions of higher learning set the tone,” McCoy told Diverse. “[HBCUs] can be the thought leaders. The partnership and relationship with Dr. Wilson was like, ‘we can incubate it.’ We’re not just producing Black talent, we’re shaping the policies, resources, structures, and environments in which the talented individuals leaving our campus are going into. And we’re welcoming back HBCU graduates like Dr. Wilson, of Spelman College, who have dreams for their communities.

“At Stillman, literally, we are incubating Black tech futures.”

logo