![]() ![]() ![]() Similar to the ones I knew Poppy kept in her locker. But the day the teasing stopped was the same day that I first saw Cameron carrying this big, manila folder. "It's like I was saying," she said matter-of-factly. "But what does that have to do with Poppy's homework?" I rubbed my temples, slightly lost in her rambling. And if one of us accidentally used his old nickname, Poppy or Sienna would tell us off." " Kat," I prodded gently, trying to redirect her rambling. Looking back now, though, I think they were jealous-" He'd shove him in lockers, throw spitballs on him in class. I don't even know why Astor didn't like him-maybe because he's so smart-but he used to hound him. "So, he used to have a hard time with the guys," Kat told me. I nodded, recalling the boy from the office who I kept running into. Then, suddenly, she jumped with child-like excitement. I mean, sort of." she trailed off, struggling to string her words together. I blinked profusely, my brain buzzing once more. ![]() "Poppy hasn't done her own school work since year eight." "Do you mean that you're not the only person who does Poppy's school work?" "Mhm." Kat nodded, taking another sip of water. My eyes shifted back to her, my interest slightly peaked. Now I'm just another one of Poppy's puppets." As Chontelle had said, it wasn't like Kat would remember our conversation anyway. It’s more difficult, but we can’t just ignore an entire generation because, by the time the 7-year-old grows up, Boeing might not exist anymore or will be so firmly planted in another country, they’re not coming back."Oh," I said, not even bothering to hide my disappointment. "But if we hire their parents," she says, "those kids would be taken care of. While there are many efforts, including her own, geared toward improving the STEM education of American children, Calvin says, "Boeing cannot hire a 7-year-old engineer today." But this former first grade teacher is prioritizing outreach to adults. She’s focusing on promoting the image of blerds in pop culture, connecting employers with employees, and educating African Americans of all ages about STEM and the technology behind starting a business. With the summer ending, Calvin is already looking ahead. 'Black hack' brings me back to my roots and reminds me of the sharing of resources that is still present and vibrant in the black community." "The black experience I was raised in was communal as I went through school and in my professional life, I became more distant from the black community. But the one organized by Blerdology was unlike the others this time, Parker wasn't the only black woman in the room. Parker had participated in hackathons before to benefit nonprofit organizations and social justice causes. The site is scheduled to go live on September 9. They continued to talk and collaborate after the hackathon, and in July they won a competition to redesign the city of Newark's website. There, graphic designer and web developer Vajaah Parker met entrepreneur Derrick Phillip II. The New York event included a woman producing animated science mysteries for kids featuring children of color.Īfter the success of the Atlanta hackathon, Blerdology organized similar events at South by Southwest, the annual technology and culture conference in Austin, Tex., and in Newark, N.J., which Cory Booker, the city's mayor, attended. Industry insiders gave intimate talks and local STEM entrepreneurs showcased their work. In these events, dubbed "Blerds' Night Out," participants gathered over drinks and food in Orlando, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco and New York City. This summer, Blerdology held get-togethers of African Americans in STEM around the country. "Solidarity and affinity matter," she says. When no one looks like you - in a country where race is still relevant - isolation often follows and undermines feelings of belonging. This problem echoed what she’d seen teaching elementary school and from Michelle in Training (MiT), the nonprofit she runs to provide mentorship opportunities for high school girls. "I thought I was the only one I didn't know there were others," she says. For 24 hours, the developers worked with the new companies and nonprofits to design and create what they needed to get off the ground.Īll the coders who attended were black, and half were women.Ĭalvin was surprised when she kept hearing from them. To bring supply to demand, she organized a black "hackathon" in Atlanta last November more than 80 people attended - coders, leaders of new businesses, and consultants. There were not enough reasonably affordable software developers who could create (or code) the products a fledgling enterprise needs, such as interactive websites and mobile apps. Blerdology grew out of an experience that Calvin, founder of a small consulting firm, shared with many other start-up entrepreneurs. ![]()
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