HBCU Florida Memorial University recently debuted a new innovation center dedicated to helping underrepresented communities find support for their tech ideas.
Launched this past Thursday, the tech innovation center, known formally as the “Technolij Innovation Center,” is a collaboration between the school and the nonprofit after which it’s named, Technolij. Launched by a veteran in the music industry, Ted Lucas, the Florida-based nonprofit’s focus is on closing the racial wealth gap through the use of technology.
Through their collaboration alongside Chandler Malone, Florida Memorial University and Technolij will be opening up the doors for the Black community and the Brown community in South Florida.
Alongside offering students and community members the ability to study technology in a center that was built to emulate a tech workplace, Technolij is also extending a new program to the members of the area. Titled the “Technolij Apprenticeship Program,” the new opportunity will give anyone from the Black and Brown communities of Miami Gardens the chance to study the basic skills needed to enter the tech workforce in a group-style type of learning.
“The pathways allow them to either say ‘Hey, yes, I want to go work for company A, B or C or, hey, I want to go build out this app, this website, the SAS company that I’ve been thinking about for the last couple of months,’” said the executive director of Technolij, Marlon Avery, in an interview with non-profit Refresh Miami. “Our job is to give them the tools and the resources to be successful on whatever path they want to shine in at the end of the program.”
Despite efforts, representation in the tech world still remains low. In a report released in 2022, the nonprofit, The Kapor Center, and the NAACP found that just eight percent of undergraduate students across the U.S. who went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2020 were Black students. The number is on a downward trend as it was reported that it was down one percent from the nine percent rate in 2016.
For the students that chose to pursue a tech Bachelor’s degree, the struggle for representation extended to finding positions at big tech companies; according to the report, there was only a one percent increase in technical positions filled by Black tech workers. Those that were hired reported that they’ve experienced racism in the workplace, particularly when it came to receiving promotions and pay.
“Racial equity in tech is a 21st century imperative with far-reaching implications for our nation’s future,” said the leaders of the Kapoor Center and the NAACP in the report. “For our nation to remain innovative and prosperous, we need educational and workforce opportunities that match our racial diversity.”
