[zanek]

I'm black and a software engineer for 14 yrs (college degree), and although I know there are racist people out there, I've never encountered any even once in 14 years across a ton of companies (startups, fortune 500 companies, etc)

If you can produce something of value, no one gives a shit about your race. The hundreds of people I've met in tech have been race blind as far as i could tell. I think the tech industry in general is a meritocracy from my experience.

I would never join a race based startup, as that seems quite lame to me. Then again, perhaps I'm an outlier as I think race based anything is stupid (BET, etc). We're like 99.9% the same yet people think a chemical within their skin alters something intrinsically about us. Absurd

It really comes down to poor role models in the black community, poor education & not enough resources. Why would anyone care about your race if you are producing.

I think racist people in tech would be the exception, not the rule.