John, we need to ensure our staff is on the cutting edge of
tech issues that affect Black people.
[ [link removed] ][IMG]
Will you make a donation to ensure our team can attend AfroTech 2020?
[ [link removed] ]DONATE
Dear John,
I’m Jade, Interim Senior Campaign Director for the Media, Culture, and
Economic Justice team, and I hosted the first ever Color Of Change, Black
People’s Brunch: AfroTech Edition at the nation's largest Black tech
conference. It was empowering to see Black people come together to talk
about how those working in the tech field and those working in civil
rights organizations must collaborate. Not only did we laugh, dance, and
sing together but we also broke down the barriers between Black people
working in tech and those working in civil rights organizations who will
shape the tech industry.
I’m truly grateful for the experience to discuss social justice and the
challenges and triumphs of the tech space, and how these things overlap.
The daily fight for racial and social justice can be exhausting and seeing
the impact of our work in real time was deeply empowering. But I know my
teammates would also be inspired, engaged, and energized about continuing
to fight for Black liberation in tech spaces. [ [link removed] ]John, will you
make a pledge of $10 to ensure my team can attend AfroTech 2020 and remain
on the cutting edge of tech issues that directly affect Black people and
Black communities?
Over the past year, we’ve accomplished major wins in tech accountability:
* We pressured Facebook to commit to an independent civil rights audit
examining all the ways Facebook has failed Black people.
* We successfully advocated for legislation that prohibits secret
surveillance and gives Bay Area residents the tools to block new
surveillance programs.
* We worked to pass legislation in San Francisco banning discriminatory
facial recognition technology.
* We helped pass net neutrality protections in California, ensuring
millions of people have access to a free and open Internet.
In 2020, we plan to take on even more tech accountability work. We all
know that Silicon Valley has a diversity issue and it’s reflected in the
policies and algorithms that shape our online experiences.^1 As of today,
Twitter continues to allow white nationalists to organize, harass members,
and use its platform as a megaphone for hate speech.^2 Facebook’s Mark
Zuckerberg continues to give anti-Black forces the reach to promote their
agenda by spreading racist ideologies.^3 These are only three examples of
why we must remain on the frontlines fighting for safe digital spaces for
Black and Brown people to share, connect, inspire, and be free from hate
speech and physical harm.
This is where you come in, John. We need your support
to [ [link removed] ]send our team to AfroTech 2020 with a pledge of $10.
If we raise $20,000 in the next 2 weeks of December, we can send our
entire team to AfroTech 2020 and host another Black People's Brunch:
AfroTech Edition. Here is how you may support this important work:
* If 50 people give $50 then our costs to travel to Oakland would be
covered.
* If 100 people give $100, then our team’s lodging and meals would be
guaranteed.
[ [link removed] ]No worries if you are unable to give the amounts above. No donation is
too small. We need your help to bring this vision to life. Chip in what
you can to support sending the Media, Culture, and Economic Justice team
to AfroTech 2020!
Since AfroTech started, it has been a revolutionary experience for Black
tech entrepreneurs, engineers, executives, computer programmers, and media
moguls who are often the only Black people in the room at their jobs. This
year’s conference brought 10,000 Black folks in tech to Oakland. In 2020,
we want to make sure justice for Black people is a central theme in tech
conversations - by having Color Of Change on the ground to tell about it.
[ [link removed] ]Help us make that happen. Chip in $10 to send the Media, Culture, and
Economic Justice team to AfroTech 2020!
Until justice is real,
--Jade, Rashad, Arisha, Evan, Johnny, Future, Eesha, Samantha, Marcus,
FolaSade, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
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References:
1. Frank Holland, “Silicon Valley has a diversity problem, and the
Afrotech Conference draws some of the biggest names in Tech to help
fix it,” CNBC, November 7, 2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
2. Dell Cameron, “Twitter Under Fire Again for Failing to Ban White
Supremacists as Charlottesville Anniversary Nears,” Gizmodo, August 2,
2019,
[ [link removed] ][link removed]
3. Lauren Frias, “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had an undisclosed dinner
with Trump and Peter Thiel at the White House,” Business Insider,
November 20,
2019, [ [link removed] ][link removed]
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[ [link removed] ]Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black
folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. [ [link removed] ]Help
keep our movement strong.
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