Finding tech groups. (Cyberwise).QA I recently viewed the convention calendar and was astonished a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. to see that there were so many professional associations for African Americans African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. , but what I didn't see was an organization for African Americans in the IT field. Can you refer me to any Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the associations or organizations? --N. R. Heywood Via the Internet Good question. There are numerous African American organizations dedicated to technology. Here are a few places to start: The Black Data Processing Associates See BDPA. (body) Black Data Processing Associates - (BDPA) A non-profit professional association, founded in 1975 to promote positive influence in the information technology (IT) industry and how it affects African Americans. (www.bdpa.org) is a group that has chapters in more than 40 cities across the country. The organization provides networking meetings and conferences, as well as IT education and training programs. Also check out African-American Women in Technology (AAWIT; www.aawit.net), which is geared toward the education and employment of women in the technology field. The organization's founder, Monique Boea, is a professional Web designer and programmer (1) A hardware device used to customize a programmable logic chip such as a PAL, GAL, EPROM, etc. See PROM programmer. (2) A person who designs the logic for and writes the lines of codes of a computer program. , so if you are looking to connect with members in the field, AAWIT might be a good place to begin. Another place to visit is Black Geeks Online (www.blackgeeks.net), which isn't so much an organization as a network. The 30,000-member virtual community of tech professionals represents a variety of fields. Many of the founding members were pioneers in the online arena, such as NetNoir's E. David Filington. Hope this information helps you get started on your search. --Sonya A. Donaldson Mail your technology questions to Cyberwise, BLACK ENTERPRISE, 130 Fifth Ave., New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , NY 10011, or send an e-mail to donaldsons@blackenterprise.com. |
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