Atlanta as a major center for Blacks in technology -- update 3/14/16

Last update: Monday 3/14/16  

As most of the readers of this blog are probably aware, Atlanta's Black community has an interrelated set of competitive advantages with regards to its becoming an increasingly important national center for Blacks in technology ==> size, wealth, education, access to local colleges and universities having high national and international reputations, and political power.



Atlanta's Black middle class is one of the largest and best educated in the nation. It is home to Spelman College and Morehouse College (two of the nation's top HBCUs) and to Georgia Tech (one of the nation's top schools of engineering). Its Black community has extraordinary political power, having elected every mayor since 1970 -- Maynard Jackson (1974-1982, 1990-1994), Andrew Young (1982-1990), Bill Campbell (1994-2002), Shirley Franklin (2002-2010), and Kasim Reed (2010-present).

It should therefore come as no surprise that Atlanta is now evolving a network of organizations that promote tech skills, civic hacking, and start-up operations.  Goodie Hack and its affiliates are charter members of this network. PartPic is one of its early success stories. This effectiveness of this network will be greatly enhanced by the establishment of the BIG Innovation Center, announced on Sunday 3/13/16 at SXSW 2016 by digitalundivided with Mayor Reed's enthusiastic endorsement. This center intends to reach around 2,000 Black and Latina tech founders per year. During the president's visit to SXSW his administration also named Atlanta one of its NewTech Hire cities.

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Related notes on this blog:

• Major Centers for Blacks in Technology ... February 2016