[kenjackson]

The problem is for this to work at scale you really need to make programming/entrepreneurship desirable for your African Americans. This is easy for sports and entertainment, because the stars are so visible. But who knows who Peter Thiel is outside of a very small niche. Vinod Khosla?

And this is why I think the black incubators make sense. You can bring the idea of an incubator into the inner city and recruit young people of color and if a handful get modest success it will begin to breed something in their community.

All this is easier said than done and maybe even misguided, but I think that's the idea.

[Jun8]

You are right. However, not knowing successful entrepreneurs (while being able to name 20 different rappers) is not unique to black high schoolers, so it's up to the mentor to create motivation and make these stories known, e.g. take them to the Social Network movie and explain that that guy in the hoodie is now worth billions, much more than Jay Z.

I don't know about the misguided part, but it's definitely not easier said than done, a lot of people are doing it (although juggling work and a kid is demanding). The response I'm getting from the kids is just awesome.

So, for ordinary engineers like me, the solution is simple: mentor those who you think are underrepresented.

BTW: it's a pity that in FIRST girls around encouraged much, most teams are more than 95% boys.

[michaelchisari]

take them to the Social Network movie and explain that that guy in the hoodie is now worth billions, much more than Jay Z.

A white, upper-middle class student at an Ivy League, versus a black guy with a single mom from the Bed-Stuy housing projects. I don't think it's a very good comparison.

And I say this as a white guy with a working middle class upbringing who works on social networking software, and I still have a real hard time identifying with Zuckerburg.