Attending Hack the Hood‘s 10th Anniversary Celebration on November 1 and being asked to give a speech as one of the co-founders–and have a chance to reconnect with alumni and connect more deeply with the current team–was a great experience. I wanted to share what I wrote, so here goes:
It was a dream—a dream to support small businesses, to empower our youth, and to push back on the lack of people of color working in tech. And today, as I stand before you, that dream called Hack the Hood celebrates its 10th year.
Before I say anything more, I want to appreciate Hack the Hood’s current staff and board, who have done so much to fulfill the mission to provide Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and AAPI youth with tech skill-building programs and career navigation supports that are grounded in justice and support economic development and growth. You all work so hard and care so much. It is an honor to be here with you, the young folks in our community, and the alumni, board members, founders, friends, and allies who are here today.
Our journey began in 2013, born out of a fusion of imagination from Oakland Local and Grind for the Green. It was during this time that Zakiya Harris and I envisioned a world where young people of color not only consumed tech but actively created it. Dreaming together, we thought, “What if that work became a pathway to careers in tech for Oakland young people who wouldn’t normally have access to these types of careers–not just in coding, but in marketing, product development, and project management–good-paying jobs with a future? What if our young people could literally Hack the Hood? Launching Hack the Hood was our answer to the glaring gaps in the tech industry AND the need for local businesses to establish an online presence.
To help make this idea happen, we recruited Mary Fuller, who became our third co-founder. Mary was the person who had experience with fundraising and development, and she was instrumental in getting us the funding that allowed us to do the first summer of Hack the Hood–a $25,000 grant from The Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY). Our friends at United Roots, another youth-serving organization, gave us their space for our program and we were ready to start.
And, this was an origin story unlike many others–For that first program in the summer of 2013, 18 students–mostly from East Oakland– showed up to work with the three instructors of color–Zakiya, Juan Gomez, and Max Gibson. During our summer program, we emphasized meeting young people where they are and taught them basic web development and soft skills. We took them to visit Facebook, and other local tech companies, so they could see first-hand what was going on and also meet potential mentors and contacts. The team worked with each participant to recruit local small businesses that didn’t have websites and then have them build websites for their clients.
At the end of the summer, 17 of the 18 young people had completed the program, building 2-3 websites each–way more than we’d require in future years! When we turned in our final report for the summer, our funder, OFCY, said that our completion rate of 90% was exceptional for young people this age, congrats!
At that point, we realized we had an impactful program model. But we were out of gas. We all had other jobs and there was no money for fall programs–but we knew that we needed to support these youth and keep something going before next summer rolled around.
And then something magical happened–we won $500K to launch Hack the Hood as a year-round program.
We learned that the 2014 Google Impact Challenge in California would award $500,000 to an idea that helped create a better Bay area. Could that be us?
Google said they’d welcome ideas at any stage, even the early stage–so we applied. And then, after much effort, we won!!! (And I am honored to say that Micah Berman, our Google Impact Challenge program manager is here tonight to celebrate.)
Suddenly, Hack the Hood had funding to build a full year-round program. After some discussion, Zakiya, Mary, and I left our other jobs and started working together to create the organization. We had a tiny office in the Impact Hub on Broadway and 23rd, a space founded by three women of color, now managed by Oakstop. We developed expanded summer programs, a year-round after-school program, and a teacher training workshop to support other organizations, outside of Oakland, that wanted to run our program.
As we expanded into year-round programs, we were able to help young people get more than a taste of what it means to work in tech. We started to help our youth prepare for and get admission to programs like the Adobe Digital Academy, Hack Reactor, and the Web Design track at Berkeley City College. We also had young people build the skills to join the organization as instructors, project coordinators, and program managers. Seeing so many young people engage with our programs and grow in confidence and skill was so rewarding.
I also celebrate how many websites the Hack the Hood students built for local people. There was also a moment, around 2018, when I became accustomed to meeting small business people–artists, consultants, shopkeepers, small non-profits–and then discovering that a Hack the Hood participant had built their website!
Hack the Hood could not have had the impact it did in those days without committed and talented volunteers. Having working professionals show up to answer questions about their jobs, help with coding problems, and mentor youth made an incredible difference. Thank you, B. Astrella and the Clef team, and Erica Baker, engineer extraordinaire, for all you did in the early days. Gabriel Castillo and Luther Jackson, you have both given so much to the organization and to the young people Hack the Hood supports. Thank you, Kamal Shal and Tanya Caragol, for sticking with HtH through years of transitions.
I especially treasure my interactions and relationships with participants from Hack the Hood’s first four years, many of whom have gone on to do great things. Leo Martin, Natalie Contreras, Abel Regalado, Daniel Alvarado, Don Fontaine, Tashae Hawkins, and Madeira Dynes–seeing each of you build your lives and careers made so much of our hard work worthwhile–and I learned so much from each of you.
But I couldn’t share these thoughts with you without also noting what Hack the Hood has failed to accomplish. When we started–at the same time, in the same city–as other important organizations such as The Hidden Genius Project and Black Girls Code–we were trying to address issues of tech equity by better preparing young people of color for tech careers.
It started to become obvious by 2018 that while we were doing our work of creating skills and opportunities for young folks of color, the tech companies were not really supporting that. Too many of the organizations that were happy to fund us were not actually changing their hiring process or their culture in ways that would welcome, attract, and retain BIPOC workers.
And I am sad to say that in 2023, that remains pretty much unchanged.
Today, like then, most tech companies remain places of privilege, where the bulk of the full-time employees are white and male, and leadership is heavily skewed that way. According to the 2023 Google Diversity report, for example, in the US, only 4.4% of the staffers are Latinx, and 4.4% are Black. 36.3% of the U.S. leadership roles at the company are held by white men, a majority that has not changed much despite years of so-called action.
So while Hack the Hood did a good job of activating and inspiring youth, we failed at getting the tech ecosystem to significantly shift. But we also recognized the problem and did more and more to make sure young people were aware of other opportunities besides the big tech companies–like small organizations, non-profits, and their own small businesses.
I think we can all be proud that Hack the Hood is here to recognize this day, and that so many of us who care about supporting young people and making sure that they have access to learning and career opportunities are together in this room.
But making sure that Hack the Hood continues for the next 10 years is up to all of us. As a program that is not only free to participants but that provides stipends and computers, Hack the Hood needs support from both individuals and institutions to make their programs happen. Your continued support of Hack the Hood so we can continue to nurture community, empower youth, and push for a more just and inclusive tech industry will make an incredible difference.
If we keep believing in and lifting up young people of color by supporting this very special organization, I know the next 10 years for Hack the Hood will be even brighter than the first.
Attending Hack the Hood‘s 10th Anniversary Celebration on November 1 and being asked to give a speech as one of the co-founders–and have a chance to reconnect with alumni and connect more deeply with the current team–was a great experience. I wanted to share what I wrote, so here goes:
It was a dream—a dream to support small businesses, to empower our youth, and to push back on the lack of people of color working in tech. And today, as I stand before you, that dream called Hack the Hood celebrates its 10th year.
Before I say anything more, I want to appreciate Hack the Hood’s current staff and board, who have done so much to fulfill the mission to provide Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and AAPI youth with tech skill-building programs and career navigation supports that are grounded in justice and support economic development and growth. You all work so hard and care so much. It is an honor to be here with you, the young folks in our community, and the alumni, board members, founders, friends, and allies who are here today.
Our journey began in 2013, born out of a fusion of imagination from Oakland Local and Grind for the Green. It was during this time that Zakiya Harris and I envisioned a world where young people of color not only consumed tech but actively created it. Dreaming together, we thought, “What if that work became a pathway to careers in tech for Oakland young people who wouldn’t normally have access to these types of careers–not just in coding, but in marketing, product development, and project management–good-paying jobs with a future? What if our young people could literally Hack the Hood? Launching Hack the Hood was our answer to the glaring gaps in the tech industry AND the need for local businesses to establish an online presence.
To help make this idea happen, we recruited Mary Fuller, who became our third co-founder. Mary was the person who had experience with fundraising and development, and she was instrumental in getting us the funding that allowed us to do the first summer of Hack the Hood–a $25,000 grant from The Oakland Fund for Children and Youth (OFCY). Our friends at United Roots, another youth-serving organization, gave us their space for our program and we were ready to start.
And, this was an origin story unlike many others–For that first program in the summer of 2013, 18 students–mostly from East Oakland– showed up to work with the three instructors of color–Zakiya, Juan Gomez, and Max Gibson. During our summer program, we emphasized meeting young people where they are and taught them basic web development and soft skills. We took them to visit Facebook, and other local tech companies, so they could see first-hand what was going on and also meet potential mentors and contacts. The team worked with each participant to recruit local small businesses that didn’t have websites and then have them build websites for their clients.
At the end of the summer, 17 of the 18 young people had completed the program, building 2-3 websites each–way more than we’d require in future years! When we turned in our final report for the summer, our funder, OFCY, said that our completion rate of 90% was exceptional for young people this age, congrats!
At that point, we realized we had an impactful program model. But we were out of gas. We all had other jobs and there was no money for fall programs–but we knew that we needed to support these youth and keep something going before next summer rolled around.
And then something magical happened–we won $500K to launch Hack the Hood as a year-round program.
We learned that the 2014 Google Impact Challenge in California would award $500,000 to an idea that helped create a better Bay area. Could that be us?
Google said they’d welcome ideas at any stage, even the early stage–so we applied. And then, after much effort, we won!!! (And I am honored to say that Micah Berman, our Google Impact Challenge program manager is here tonight to celebrate.)
Suddenly, Hack the Hood had funding to build a full year-round program. After some discussion, Zakiya, Mary, and I left our other jobs and started working together to create the organization. We had a tiny office in the Impact Hub on Broadway and 23rd, a space founded by three women of color, now managed by Oakstop. We developed expanded summer programs, a year-round after-school program, and a teacher training workshop to support other organizations, outside of Oakland, that wanted to run our program.
As we expanded into year-round programs, we were able to help young people get more than a taste of what it means to work in tech. We started to help our youth prepare for and get admission to programs like the Adobe Digital Academy, Hack Reactor, and the Web Design track at Berkeley City College. We also had young people build the skills to join the organization as instructors, project coordinators, and program managers. Seeing so many young people engage with our programs and grow in confidence and skill was so rewarding.
I also celebrate how many websites the Hack the Hood students built for local people. There was also a moment, around 2018, when I became accustomed to meeting small business people–artists, consultants, shopkeepers, small non-profits–and then discovering that a Hack the Hood participant had built their website!
Hack the Hood could not have had the impact it did in those days without committed and talented volunteers. Having working professionals show up to answer questions about their jobs, help with coding problems, and mentor youth made an incredible difference. Thank you, B. Astrella and the Clef team, and Erica Baker, engineer extraordinaire, for all you did in the early days. Gabriel Castillo and Luther Jackson, you have both given so much to the organization and to the young people Hack the Hood supports. Thank you, Kamal Shal and Tanya Caragol, for sticking with HtH through years of transitions.
I especially treasure my interactions and relationships with participants from Hack the Hood’s first four years, many of whom have gone on to do great things. Leo Martin, Natalie Contreras, Abel Regalado, Daniel Alvarado, Don Fontaine, Tashae Hawkins, and Madeira Dynes–seeing each of you build your lives and careers made so much of our hard work worthwhile–and I learned so much from each of you.
But I couldn’t share these thoughts with you without also noting what Hack the Hood has failed to accomplish. When we started–at the same time, in the same city–as other important organizations such as The Hidden Genius Project and Black Girls Code–we were trying to address issues of tech equity by better preparing young people of color for tech careers.
It started to become obvious by 2018 that while we were doing our work of creating skills and opportunities for young folks of color, the tech companies were not really supporting that. Too many of the organizations that were happy to fund us were not actually changing their hiring process or their culture in ways that would welcome, attract, and retain BIPOC workers.
And I am sad to say that in 2023, that remains pretty much unchanged.
Today, like then, most tech companies remain places of privilege, where the bulk of the full-time employees are white and male, and leadership is heavily skewed that way. According to the 2023 Google Diversity report, for example, in the US, only 4.4% of the staffers are Latinx, and 4.4% are Black. 36.3% of the U.S. leadership roles at the company are held by white men, a majority that has not changed much despite years of so-called action.
So while Hack the Hood did a good job of activating and inspiring youth, we failed at getting the tech ecosystem to significantly shift. But we also recognized the problem and did more and more to make sure young people were aware of other opportunities besides the big tech companies–like small organizations, non-profits, and their own small businesses.
I think we can all be proud that Hack the Hood is here to recognize this day, and that so many of us who care about supporting young people and making sure that they have access to learning and career opportunities are together in this room.
But making sure that Hack the Hood continues for the next 10 years is up to all of us. As a program that is not only free to participants but that provides stipends and computers, Hack the Hood needs support from both individuals and institutions to make their programs happen. Your continued support of Hack the Hood so we can continue to nurture community, empower youth, and push for a more just and inclusive tech industry will make an incredible difference.
If we keep believing in and lifting up young people of color by supporting this very special organization, I know the next 10 years for Hack the Hood will be even brighter than the first.