Next To Silicon Valley, Nonprofits Draw Youth Of Color Into Tech
Twenty-year-old Taneka Armstrong wants to land a high-tech job, but her day starts at Taco Bell.
Armstrong stands behind a steel counter, making Burrito Supremes and ringing up customers. She counts pennies and quarters. She also gets orders from her bosses, who she says can be pretty condescending.
"They're just like, 'Oh, did you know that already?' Or, 'Can you do this?' " she says. "Yes, I've been doing it, for almost a year now."
Armstrong is a native of Oakland, Calif., next door to Silicon Valley, and she lives two lives. This first one, which starts as early as 5 a.m., doesn't challenge her or pay well. And that's why she set off in search of life No. 2: learning tech skills.
That's not an easy path, though. Technology companies have a problem when it comes to employee diversity. The workforce at places like Google and Facebook is overwhelmingly white and male.
To counter that, a growing number of nonprofits are popping up in Oakland to help young blacks and Latinos break into the industry.
The Goal Is Exposure
Every afternoon this summer, Armstrong is in the offices of a small nonprofit called Hack the Hood. Her job is to fix websites for clients.
"I'm trying to do an outline," she says, staring at a page on her laptop that has a lot of links. "You click on it, it takes you everywhere in the world. I like short and simple."
Young Americans Struggle For Jobs
Young Americans Struggle For Jobs
A 'Lost Generation Of Workers': The Cost Of Youth Unemployment