- The Onyx Group Newsletter
- Posts
- Inflection Point
Inflection Point
Black Tech Policy Collective Newsletter | Edition 001
The Onyx Group
February 13, 2024
Welcome or welcome back!
This edition:
Inflection Point
by Ishvaraus Davis
The world is changing. We are in the early days of an economic revolution spurred by emerging technologies. Advances in generative artificial intelligence, semiconductors, connectivity, wearables, biotech, and other technologies can and will make the world look very different. For the Black community in particular, this is an Inflection Point. While the economic potential associated with emerging technologies is as high as $7 trillion, the racial wealth gap between Black and White households could widen by $43 billion within the next 20 years. We are underrepresented in technology (3.7% of technical roles) and technology policy, meaning we don’t make the rules and are infrequently involved in the game. We have virulent racists like Edward Blum & Elon Musk mounting a full-fledged attack on Civil Rights and hard-won DEI initiatives across industries. This is exacerbated by a lack of investment in Black-owned startups (.48% of Venture Capital funding in 2023), which reduces our ability to exercise agency in technologies that we, in many ways, are the most important consumers of.
But, we have climbed mountains in adverse circumstances before. We created a thriving economic power base in Greenwood. We played a major role in technological progress, from the invention of the personal computer to making it to the moon. We invented the refrigerator, elevator, almanac, open heart surgery, and countless other devices that are relied on the world over. We are a powerful force in this country that has, and will continue to, rise to the occasion. This time of rapid technological progress is no different.
In order to seize this pivotal moment for our community we need an integrated approach to changemaking. Enter: Black Tech Policy Collective (BTPC). The driving force behind the Black Tech Policy Collective is that the Black community needs an organization hyper-focused on emerging technologies that can develop products, conduct research, advocate for substantive change, and make emerging tech more transparent, all under one roof. BTPC’s main goal is “the four levels of impact” approach through direct, boots on the ground initiatives within our communities, in addition to influencing America’s largest companies and federal agencies to make the changes we need. It’s a massive undertaking that we have no delusions about executing alone. The magic comes through the synergy of working with other great organizations across the ecosystem in an effort to make 1+1=3.
This idea has blossomed from a seed at a presentation at the Black is Tech conference in 2023, to an effective early-stage organization. Over the span of just 5 months we have submitted comments to the STEMM Opportunity Alliance, worked with the Lawyer’s Committee on their Online Civil Rights Act bill, launched the newsletter (thank you for reading!), hosted a couple of community convenings, and most of all, created space for over 40 people that want to have a positive impact on our communities through emerging technology. The journey is less than 1% done and we hope you will be part of it in whatever way suits you in this season.
Policy Watch
Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are concerned about the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). U.S. Senators Peter Welch (D-VT), JD Vance (R-OH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and representatives Yvette Clarke (NY-09) and Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) have proposed legislation to fund the ACP through the end of the year. With a $7 billion injection, ACP advocates are hopeful that the bill will get passed and continue supporting families in need of affordable internet. Since its implementation, the ACP has benefitted: over 22.5 million households, 800k veterans, 1 million college students, 5 million seniors and 3.1 million families with a K-12 student receiving free or reduced lunch. Affordable Internet has become a necessity for families. Subsequently, we need legislation that guarantees families have viable methods to access broadband services. Advocacy Crew will continue to monitor the ACP Extension Act as it garners support.
Tech Tip
Has your email been a part of a data breach recently? Have you changed your email password within the last year? Haveibeenpwned (pwned as in owned) is a great website to find out if your email has been compromised or not. As tax season begins to rev up there are plenty of scammers who would love to gain access to your personal information. Don’t make it easy! Use Haveibeenpwned and if your email has been compromised, change your password and follow the steps the website provides to secure your data.
Updates
Advocacy Crew (AdCrew) is hard at work collaborating with BeGreatDC on their Annual Laptop Drive. Moreover, we are tracking reports and legislation on the Affordable Connectivity Program. Part of our objectives this quarter includes pairing our policy with practice. Subsequently, the Advocacy Crew will be focusing on legislation that looks to secure more funding for the ACP. Bills like the Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act of 2024 could provide the funding needed to keep this program alive. Introduced by Rep. Yvette Clarke, the ACP Extension Act would insert $7 billion into the ACP; a much needed stimulus for over 22 million households who still depend on this program. Lastly, the AdCrew is focused on ensuring more black professionals can enter into the tech industry, to aid this initiative we are creating a Pathways to Practice manual to help learners of all ages find their footing in the tech space. This manual includes recommended reading, free training resources, and industry projections. Our focus is advocacy across the spectrum, and we’re looking forward to kicking this year off strong!
We’ve been working hard to prepare for our official launch! We’ve spent time creating outreach and engagement strategies, an official logo, and worked with the Research and Advocacy Pillars to begin creating content to share. Be on the lookout for #BTPC on LinkedIn and Instagram in the near future. Can’t wait to share and engage with you!
If you have skills in design or content creation or a passion for communications, we’d love to have you on our team. Please reach out if you’re interested in joining us!
The Research Pillar has been diligently preparing for our first article submission! We held a successful MIRO brainstorming session. Some of the topic areas we will explore for white papers, op/eds, and/or letters to the editor include: emerging technology, digital identity, satellite internet, socialfi/creator economy, blockchain/defi, and decentralized economics. An editorial calendar has been established to track our efforts and topics. We are currently researching and writing on “The Impact of Digital Literacy on Emerging Technology”. Members are focusing on different subtopics under this main topic to write about as well. We look forward to seeing our first piece in print! Please join our Slack channel and/or bi-weekly meetings if you would want to be a part of this dynamic team!
Opportunities
Upcoming Events
Communications Pillar Meeting 2/13/24 @ 8PM
All-Organization Meeting 2/15/24 @ 7PM
Research Pillar Meeting 2/21/24 @ 7PM
Thanks for joining us this edition! If you find this newsletter valuable, please share it with others that you think would like to follow along. Don’t forget to add us to your safe senders list and save us as a contact so we never get sent to spam. And, if you’d like to officially join the organization please fill out our interest form and we will be in touch!
Reply