Tennessee State University last week launched the HBCU C2 Presidential Academy, a new initiative that's designed to expose students of color to coding and app development, reports The Tennessean.

The HBCU C2 Presidential Academy invited students from 14 historically black colleges and universities to learn from Apple. The program is designed to make sure that TSU and other HBCUs remain at the forefront of technology.

applehbcupresidentialacademy

"The goal is to make sure HBCUs are not only up to date, but are creators and innovators of this new technology," said Robbie Melton, TSU's interim Dean of Graduates and Professional Studies and the initiative's main facilitator.

"Coding and app development is a growing part of the global workforce, and we want to help make sure people of color, especially our students, are equipped with the knowledge and skills to be competitive, and successful," said TSU President Glenda Glover.

Apple CEO Tim Cook this morning tweeted about the initiative, where students learned Swift using Apple's coding curriculum and were asked to think of applications that can better the community. Apple provided equipment, scholarships, and professional development services to TSU students as part of the effort.


Lisa Jackson, Apple's VP of environment, policy, and social initiatives, said that Apple is thrilled to be working with TSU and other HBCUs to expand coding opportunities to underrepresented groups.

"Students of all backgrounds should have the opportunity to learn to code," said Jackson. "We are proud to be part of a sustainable community network that is increasing access to teaching and learning."

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Top Rated Comments

Rychiar Avatar
78 months ago
ah segregation always in the news
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Solomani Avatar
78 months ago
There is nothing inherently wrong with encouraging under-represented minorities to embrace and learn pursuits that could bring them future success. One historic example is the Barbie history of "I'm a girl and math is hard!" The old talking Barbie dolls actually said idiotic phrases like "Math is hard!" In the 1960s and 70s, girls were never encouraged to pursue STEM (science, technology, math, etc).

Today, school-age girls are more encouraged to pursue math, engineering, the sciences etc ….. and alas, more and more female doctors can be seen in the hospitals that I've worked in.


I don't know why so many above MR readers are so negative (other than the typical troll army of Apple-haters). What Apple is doing here is a good thing for the future of America. In the grand scheme of things, Apple sponsoring these kinds of programs costs Apple very little.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
!!! Avatar
78 months ago
Too bad that MR can't post a topic about "diversity" without feeling the need to post it in PRSI.
I mean, these "diversity" programs are the embodiment of Identity Politics and Affirmative Action, which are two very left leaning ideologies.

Face it, this has nothing to do with actually helping black people code, it's all about showing how "progressive" you can be by essentially being a racist. Excluding or including someone based on race is racism, no matter which race.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TuffLuffJimmy Avatar
78 months ago
ah segregation always in the news
Oh yes, white people not understanding historical disenfranchisement.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Doctor Q Avatar
78 months ago
I know of many programs that encourage women or girls and minority members to learn coding. Are these programs being studied to measure their level of success?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Crowbot Avatar
78 months ago
Sometimes I get a little tired of this apparent overemphasis on coding. I'd also like to see some exposure to the physical world of technology. (You can make and program a robot to change a lightbulb but it's easier to just change it yourself) When I was in tech school for medical engineering they were heavy on electronics but not the rest of the engineering (hydraulics, pneumatics, optics) that techs in hospitals have to deal with every day. Fortunately my father was an engineer so I learned the basics early. Bring back shop, for all genders!
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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