Sessions 2020

Keynote

I spent 10 years working in gas stations, liquor stores and small retail....

Danny Thompson

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Combatting Bias in Machine Learning

In this talk I cover how to see the bias in your data and machine learning...

Ayodele Odubela

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The Ideal Community Model: Lessons Learned

There are many ways to push your career to a point it takes a great turn,...

Shodipo Ayomide

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Empowered by Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is something that the industry continues to represent as...

Valerie Phoenix

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Breaking into Tech: From the Trenches

Bottom Line: Grit is required from historically underrepresented groups to...

Mo Hampton

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Empowerment to the People! What You Need to Know about Black People, Disability, and Accessibility

About one fifth (20%) of the global population lives with disabilities....

Angela Hooker

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Black Queer Living: a history of DIY culture in the Black LBGT+ community

What is DIY culture? How does DIY culture intertwine with the Black LGBT+...

Harold Jackson N/A

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From Combat To Code: How Vets Who Code Trained Over 250 veterans how to Code and Get Jobs For Free

A detailed origin story of how I became known as the Web's Captain America...

Jerome Hardaway

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Journaling as a Dev

Are you working with impact and purpose? Are you solidly attuned on what...

Brittney Braxton

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What they don't teach you about fundraising as a Black Founder

useneu.com has made 3 attempts at raising capital for our business. Each at...

Claudius Mbemba

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Your next open source contribution

Today Open Source is ubiquitous and comprises nearly 80% – 90% of the code...

Brian Douglas

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Giving Back to Tech without Burnout

You did it! You’re a Software Engineer! After many hours of studying and...

Mo Hampton

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Keynote: The Journey To Inclusive Innovation Incubator (In3DC)

How we ended up building an innovation space for black and underrepresented...

Aaron Saunders

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Keynote: The Reality of Developing an Artificial World

Our world is changing. Artificial intelligence is being employed in just...

Angie Jones

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Town Hall

#BlackLivesMatter: What Next...

Lance Goudy

Kimeka Campbell

Michael Brown

Nicole Tinson

Franklin Rosado

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Innovating on OUR STEM Education

What is an IQ? Why do we take the SATs? How did it end up even being a me...

Nate Rose

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The future of tech and how to keep in touch while it evolves

Building and leading communities, one of the common pitfall many people...

Dawood Iddris

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What does culturally responsive teaching mean in an online environment?

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is an instructional approach that...

Dr. Tressa Matthews

Dr. Jennifer Banks

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Lightning Interviews - Part 1

Danny Thompson will prerecord a series of interviews, which will stream co...

Danny Thompson

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Lightning Interviews - Part 2

Danny Thompson will prerecord a series of interviews, which will stream co...

Danny Thompson

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Is Headless CMS the future of development?

As digital products continue to evolve, so does the content we consume. A...

Blessing Krofegha

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Why You're Not Landing That UX Role

As a UX Coach, the question I am asked the most is "How do I actually land ...

Ashley Janelle

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Through Programming I became a better Artist

Code is my new favorite artistic medium. Creating art was once the only ac...

Shukri Abdullahi

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For Us, Without Us: Addressing Tech’s Shortcomings in Creating Equity for Black People

Many consider technology to be the “great equalizer”, but it’s evident that...

Jacqueline Gibson

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Intellectual Property rights in the technology sector

The slave who made the whiskey, Jack Daniel, was not given recognition un...

Mark Okhakumhe

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Blackfacts and The Wakanda Technology Platform - Technology By Us/For Us/About Us

The subject of 'Inclusion' in the Tech Industry is a hot topic today. In...

Ken Granderson

Dale Dowdie

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Grimoire: A Data Centric Blogging Platform

In this talk, I will describe how I built a new blogging platform focused o...

Banjo Obayomi

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Closing keynote and Town hall - Part 2

#BlackLivesMatter: What Next...

Michael Brown

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The Ideal Community Model: Lessons Learned

till

There are many ways to push your career to a point it takes a great turn, but I found out in 2017 that community participation is a must. Community involvement can be anything from Open Source Contributions, Writing articles, answering questions on social media/StackOverflow to speaking at conferences. Participation in your community will expand your network.

By attending small meetups or having conversations in slack channels will lead you to meet new people in your industry. Sharing will increase your visibility in the ecosystem by Founders, people of related skill sets, recruiters, and more.

There isn’t just one way to share your expertise with your community. Open Source Contributions isn't just code, you can write articles/documentation about the product you would like to contribute to about your experiences or speak at conferences. Collaboration helps you to be seen as a leader in your community. You can collaborate with others in your network by mentoring, organizing an event, or working together on a personal project/ideas

I learned most of the things I know today about the community the hard way because I never saw it as anything important, and all I cared about was just write the code and today I am a Senior Developer Advocate at Fleek, and also the lead organizer of some major communities in Africa which included, unStack, Developers Circles Lagos from Facebook, Open Source Community Africa, NaijaHacks, and AfricaHacks.

Key Takeaways:

1) Attendees will learn how to build a community on their own
2) Attendees will learn how open-source works in a community
3) Attendees will learn how to contribute to ideas to a community

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Shodipo Ayomide

Senior Developer Advocate at Fleek

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Town Hall

till

#BlackLivesMatter: What Next

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Lance Goudy

Goudy Management Group, CEO

Kimeka Campbell

Young Professionals of Color--Greater Harrisburg

Michael Brown

Senior Software Engineer at Microsoft

Nicole Tinson

TBD

Franklin Rosado

TBD

What does culturally responsive teaching mean in an online environment?

till

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is an instructional approach that seeks to ensure academic success while developing students' sense of culture and social-political awareness. CRT allows students to see themselves in the curriculum and assignments provided by the teacher. In the online and traditional classroom, CRT provides opportunities for students to learn how to value their culture. During this time in America, it is especially important for students to have opportunities to express themselves while using online technology.

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Dr. Tressa Matthews

Clever Math LLC , Co-Founder

Dr. Jennifer Banks

Clever Math, LLC Co-Founder

Intellectual Property rights in the technology sector

till

The slave who made the whiskey, Jack Daniel, was not given recognition until 2016. This recognition was 150 years late. This is not an isolated incident as there are several instances in the past where inventions and ideas by black people were stolen.

So much has changed all over the world, especially in countries where the rights of black people have always been a subject of constant discourse. A 2016 study found that black Americans “apply for patents at nearly half the rate of whites". This shows that a lot still needs to done to protect the intellectual property rights of black people in tech.

In my session, I will address the subject of what intellectual property rights are, how they can be protected and what the black community can do to help facilitate this protection. I will speak on the jurisdictional nature of intellectual property rights and why it is important for black people in tech to apply for triadic or international patents.

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Mark Okhakumhe

Attorney

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Blackfacts and The Wakanda Technology Platform - Technology By Us/For Us/About Us

till

The subject of 'Inclusion' in the Tech Industry is a hot topic today.

In 1990, when my employer at the time declined to offer to reimburse me for programming classes I was thinking of taking, the only thing I asked them for was to amend my employment agreement to not claim ownership of anything I built, or in other words, not get in my way.

They agreed, and I taught myself to code by reading books and launched a programming career that has now spanned close to three decades.

When I was able to quit that job a couple of years later from revenue from a product I wrote in my basement apartment, I realized the wide open opportunities available in the world of technology, and committed myself to creating technologies to help 'Bring Communities of Color Into the Information Age.'

Today, I have built a technology platform that powers my 23-years-running website Blackfacts.com, designed to provide Black schools, organizations and businesses with content and technology services on a global basis.

This talk will describe and demonstrate some of the components of the platform, called the Wakanda Technology Platform, inspired by a sub-text of the fictional nation of Wakanda, who was able to protect its culture and people because they were in possession of superior technology.

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Ken Granderson

Digital Visionary, Pioneer and Entrepreneur

Dale Dowdie

Co-Founder/CEO

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