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Looking for the hidden genius within disenfranchised youth [Blog post]. (2014, March 3). Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/looking-for-hidden-geniuses-among-disenfran
Hidden Genius is a program in Oakland for Black and Latino males. Here, they learn to code and ultimately use their skills to develop their own apps in a Hack-a-Thon. Young people develop collaboration skills as well as tech skills while creating these apps. Finally, the students pitch their apps to potential funders. This program is developed to keep the young men of Oakland off the streets. Many underserved communities, especially youth, are consumers of technology; here the idea is to make these young people producers of technology. The tech entrepreneur who started this program, Kalimah Priforce says, “If we
want to build an app that could have saved Trayvon Martin’s life, one of the best approaches is to
make sure that Trayvon Martin is able to build that app."
The young men interviewed in this program are so impressive. In the midst of all the gentrification in the Bay Area right now pushing Black and Latino families and all working class residents out of the area, I find this program really important. The tech industry desperately lacks diversity and what a way to help change the demographics of that field. As a teacher librarian at an urban school in SF, I want to make sure all of my students have access and opportunity to the newest technology. I also want to advocate for them to have these opportunities in the library and in the school as a whole.
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