During the first weekend in April, Google participated in various
African-American focused programs across the nation. Take a look…
EAST COAST
On the east coast, Google partnered with Black Girls Rock! to bring the Made with Code movement to Newark, NJ for the Girls Rock Tech! Summit. The event took place Saturday morning, a day after the Black Girls Rock! awards show taping with 120 teenagers participating in a coding workshop and series of panel discussions focused on technology and hosted by Google. Google’s Made with Code also awarded a young Black Girls Rock! student a coding scholarship for $10,000 at the event with $20,000 more in scholarships to follow.
The program included surprise celebrity guest actress Tatyana Ali. Google’s Valeisha Butterfield Jones served as the MC. The goal of the program was to inspire young Black girls to follow their dreams and consider coding as a career path.
Tatyana Ali with guests at the Girls Rock Tech! Summit
On the west coast, Youtube hosted the first-ever Black Creators Event with one hundred Black Youtube creators from across the country. The program provided a platform for creators to connect with each other and to learn from seasoned vets, including; beauty maven Lisa Price, Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson, powerhouse TV/film director Mara Brock Akil, comedian Wanda Sykes and others. The program advanced the goal to galvanize black leaders, including those in the technology space.
Carol’s Daughter founder Lisa Price and Jackie Aina at the Youtube Black event
Activist DeRay McKesson shares insights at the Youtube Black event
THE BELTWAY
In Washington D.C., Google hosted a dinner for formerly incarcerated Americans and their families. The energy in the room was magnetic and attendees walked away even more inspired to use technology to tell the stories of their families still behind bars. In addition, the formerly incarcerated individuals in attendance were non-violent offenders and yet, shared stories of experiencing prison sentences of 10 to 25 years, ripping them away from their children and families who needed them most. Many leaders and celebrities including MC Hammer were in attendance.
Matt Haney, MC Hammer, Shaka Senghor and Van Jones 
About Google Inc.
Google is a global technology leader focused on improving the ways people connect with information. Google’s innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world.
