This One Local LA Non-Profit Seeks To Help Black Teens Break Into Tech With A Life Hack

    LOS ANGELES, CA, August 16, 2022 /24-7PressRelease/ -- By providing customized educational resources, training, and mentoring, Minor-I.T., a black-owned 501(c)3 tech nonprofit, provides opportunities for African American and black minority children to participate and excel in the I.T. sector through education, equity, and empowerment. This organization aims to have individual volunteers who are also people of color ready to answer questions and provide further mentorship, in addition to providing the tools to learn programs within the I.T. career path. In addition, it seeks to alter the situation and increase black people's representation in I.T. Chief Technolgy Officer Stevie Jones says, "I'm going to be very honest-- I want more black kids to get excited about and into I.T., while hopefully getting them jobs paying $20+ an hour. I'd like to help usher in a new middle-class through I.T. careers." (PRnewsdesk, 2022, August 5). Brittany Coats, the co-founder of this organization, states,"... We believe that having a resource that can relate to the student culturally and who also has experience in the field will be incredibly valuable and remove some anxiety. Imagine being able to get I.T. certifications paid for, with the ability to work in virtual labs and network with people like you." She further elaborates by saying, "We want everyone that learns from this organization to feel comfortable, confident, and successful."(PRNewsdesk, 2022, August 5). Minor-I.T. gives the minority community hope by empowering them to participate in a lucrative business and enhance their chances of achieving financial security through its activities. According to the nonprofit, it will guarantee cultural competency for all young people who show interest and will continue to be dedicated to seeing them develop into the next generation of I.T. leaders (PRnewsdesk, 2022, August 5). Minor-I.T. is run sort of like a tech start-up, but kids learn how to support, stand up, code, lead, and build almost every aspect of I.T. in a company setting.

One of the areas targeted by the organization is the labor market. According to estimates, white people comprise more than 80% of the information and technology workforce. African Americans and other minority groups are excluded from the remaining part. More than 50% of white employees at Google and Apple are white. These businesses clearly show racial underrepresentation in technology (Wynn et al., 2013). "Breaking into this industry has been difficult, especially in certain states." And throughout my career, it was rare to see people that looked like me. We're looking to change that for the better. "Diversity drives innovation," as they say. The importance of diversity and inclusion (D&I) is growing in most significant American and international organizations. Businesses promote diversity in hiring, funding anti-bias training, and supporting non-white staff members in high-potential leadership development programs (Trajkovski, 2006). According to research, many CEOs now recognize that a varied workforce produces more innovation and outstanding performance than a homogenous one. Minor-I.T. hopes to establish equity through building business relationships, much like a school would have a pipeline to a company looking for new talent. When asked what the inspiration behind this is, Brittany responds, "I'm inspired by the endless possibilities for the children that will eventually take our places in the workplace, and it's exciting that working with Minor-I.T. gives us the ability to impact that future positively."

Sadly, many successful people of color landing jobs in the information and technology industries report experiencing discrimination and racial prejudice at work. In addition, specific demographic categories are more affected than others by the disparity between whites and blacks in terms of traditional internet and broadband adoption indicators. In particular, compared to white people with a similar demographic profile, older African Americans and those who have not completed college are much less likely to use the internet or have a broadband connection at home (Wynn et al., 2013). Recently, young African Americans see computers as critical to their futures. Still, they may miss out on early opportunities to learn to code, build infrastructure, secure systems, create apps and software, and innovate with technology. This group of young people is quite comfortable and self-assured about technology's role in their lives. African Americans are also well-represented in the field of education regarding information technology, with the majority of students being admitted to the humanities rather than the other fields. Underrepresentation in information and technology is a significant problem impacting African Americans and other minority groups in the United States and other industrialized nations. Success should be judged more on the challenges faced while attempting to accomplish something rather than the position one has attained.

If you are interested in learning more about or donating to Minor-I.T. or want more information, please visit their website at https://www.minor-it.org/who-we-are/.

Minor-I.T. is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)3 non-profit that enables African-American and black minority youth to pursue IT careers through educational experience, safe peer-to-peer learning, and networking. We also include guidance as well as mentoring to achieve unlimited career success. We sponsor, counsel, and network with children and teens to help facilitate change in an underrepresented industry. Please donate to help our children succeed in this fast-growing industry.

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