[natrius]

The goal of this program isn't to fix racism or sexism. It's to encourage a group of people to explore programming who do so at lower a rate than many other groups. If the talents and desires needed to program are evenly distributed among the population, this is a targeted way to improve the lives of people who wouldn't discover programming on their own. A program that wasn't narrowly targeted would have a lower return on investment.

[mibbitier]

And that's fine. But you can't have it both ways...

If you believe in free speech, you have to accept people saying things you don't like.

If you believe in freedom to set criteria on who you accept for something, you should also accept "white men only private clubs" etc.

[natrius]

While I might find someone's speech distasteful, I'd fight for it's legality. While I'd find "white men only private clubs" distasteful, I think they should be legal.

When it comes to taste, however, I'll absolutely have it both ways. Some racial preferences are noble. Some are repugnant.

[EricDeb]

They already exist... they're called fraternities... minus a token person of color here and there

[nollidge]

Nobody wants it both ways here. I do accept "white men only private clubs". I think they're shitty and absurd, but so be it, it's a free country.

I'm not sure what you're arguing against. Nobody said they're excluding non-blacks or non-girls. Maybe they would, and I would definitely disagree with that. What they are doing is focusing their attention on black girls. Other children are not being disadvantaged in the process just because there isn't a group that caters specifically to their demographic.

[mibbitier]

I was just pointing out a possible double standard in some peoples thinking... eg racism/sexism is fine, but only if it's in a certain direction.

[rmc]

This is not an either/or, black/white situation. It's not just A or B. There are lots of options here. Don't pretend there are only 2 options.