Google To Open Tech Lab In Oakland For Black & Latino Youth
Source: Google
Source: Google
Google will be giving a $1 million grant to an organization based out of Oakland, California, in hopes of increasing representation of black male youth in the tech industry.
READ: Google To Open Tech Lab In Oakland For Black And Latino Youth
The grant will be going to the Hidden Genius Project, an organization that mentors black male youth "in technology creation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills," according to a blog post making the announcement. Google hopes that the funds will "help the organization grow into new cities, train more staff, and expand their work."
"I first met The Hidden Genius Project when they were finalists and then winners in our 2015 Google Impact Challenge," wrote Google.org principal Justin Steele. "Since our initial $500,000 grant, they've reached more than 1,700 Bay Area students through their 15-month intensive CS and entrepreneurship bootcamp program, as well as events and workshops exposing young black men to mentors, basic computer programming and various careers in tech, like sports analytics and video game design."
Last year came news that Google was opening a tech lab in Oakland for black and Latino youth. The Code Next lab is a collaborative effort between Google and MIT Media Lab, located in a massive 255,000 square foot complex in Oakland's Fruitvale Transit Village. The program will offer after school programs focused on computer science for middle school aged children.
"Google's outreach to leverage Oakland’s inclusive innovative ecosystem has been an open door approach to the community," Qeyno Labs CEO Kalimah Priforce previously said. "And that is a warm welcome that tech giants should emulate. It takes a village, and Google gets it. To survive in Oakland, it has to be about community investment."
