Black Boys in Tech Welcomes 2nd Cohort of Drones Course Participants, Mayor Aftab Gives Words of Inspiration
FEB 28, 2023 | WRITTEN BY ABDINE LEWIS
Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval at Black Boys in Tech Spring 2023 Drones Course Kick-off. Picture taken by Visuals By Riley.
“What matters most of all of us is you all, because you represent the future leaders and future community stakeholders for our city,” says Cincnnati’s mayor Aftab Pureval during the Black Boys in Tech Spring Drones Course Kick-off at Woodward High School. Mayor Aftab is the 70th Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio and known for being connected to the Cincinnati community and supportive of not only education, but the building of talent for the city.
Mayor Aftab says, “It’s not just because we need you but we also need tech leaders. Tech is all around us. Tech will disrupt the future. And when we look at the talent pipeline, unfortunately the folks that are gravitating towards those areas do not look like all of you.” The Economic State of Black America report by McKinsey and Company supports Major Aftab’s assertion, showing that Black workers are overrepresented in low-wage jobs such as cooks and janitorial workers and underrepresented in high-wage jobs such as software developers and engineers.
Black Boys in Tech, a non-profit organization located in Cincinnati, exists to close the racial wealth gap and transform marginalized communities through STEM talent development. On Saturday, February 25th, the organization welcomed its 2nd cohort of Drones Course participants. This Drones Course is a 12-week Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) immersion program that helps to expose and prepare students for a career in STEM through project-based learning. During the Saturday Kick-off, these participants got to step into the role of a technologist or engineer by making a blinky circuit board! This soldering and introductory circuit board workshop was facilitated by Hive13, a makerspace in Cincinnati that offers STEM outreach.
Also in attendance at the Drones Course Kick-off to welcome and support the students was Moira Weir, CEO of the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Michael Workman, Principal of Woodward High School, and First Lieutenant Marvin Bryce of the Civil Air Patrol. The Kick-off was also supported by volunteers from the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, including the Black Empowerment Works Division, and volunteers from Procter and Gamble.
The Spring 2023 cohort of Drones Course participants is Black Boys in Tech’s largest and most diverse cohort yet! This group of 32 students represent 21 different schools across Hamilton County and grades levels ranging from 5th grade to 9th grade.
The Black Boys in Tech (BBIT) Drones Course is part of the organization’s outreach wing, which is dedicated to making quality STEM learning experiences widely accessible to Black and Indigenous Boys in Color. The outreach wing also offers general memberships that allow students to participate in BBIT open activities throughout the year. Furthermore, BBIT offers four internal programs that curate STEM experiences for students in grades 1-12. These programs are done in partnership with schools and community organizations that desire to provide STEM enrichment during the school day or afterschool. For inquiries about partnerships, please contact Black Boys in Tech at bbitadmin@blackboysintech.org.
AKNOWLEDGMENTS
Black Boys in Tech would like to acknowledge the following organizations and individuals:
United Way of Greater Cincinnati - Black Empowerment Works and ACE Ohio for sponsoring the Drones Course.
United Way of Greater Cincinnati for volunteering.
Eric Foster from Proctor and Gamble for volunteering.
First Lieutenant Marvin Bryce for volunteering.
Hive13 for facilitating the soldering and circuit board workshop.
Parents of BBIT for volunteering.
Woodward High School’s Principal Michael Workman for allowing building usage for the program.
Visuals By Riley for photography.