Endure
If you care about diversity and inclusion, this has been a particularly tough month.
As an organization focused on diversity in tech, the contents of the infamous “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber” memo and the white supremacy events that took place in Charlottesville, VA are sober reminders of why we do what we do. They are also a reminder that caring about this work, staying committed to its ideals and not losing sight of its vision, requires that we learn to endure.
There will be no shortage of those who believe they are superior to another human being simply because they are born with the “right” body part or the “right” amount of skin pigmentation. We cannot control the stereotypes, biases, hatred, bigotry and racism that come from some, but we can control how we react to them. We can recognize them as the obstacles that point the way to where we must go and to what we must do.
We must endure because of the hundreds of people who have benefited from a RailsBridge or a ClojureBridge event. We must endure because of the hundreds who have been exposed to programming for the first time at a GoBridge workshop and those who have gone on to pursue a career in tech because of it. We must endure because of the hundreds we have yet to reach at a ScalaBridge, an ElmBridge or an ElixirBridge.
We must endure because our work is more fulfilling when we include the perspectives of those with different backgrounds from our own. We must endure because our lives are richer when we are inclusive.
We cannot do it alone and need your help on this mission. We need you to step up and hold a workshop that targets the underrepresented in your local tech community. There are several *Bridges focused on a technology you might already be working with or interested in that you can join to help make it happen. We will work with you to find sponsors, teachers, teaching assistants and generally be there for you to facilitate a safe and rewarding learning experience for you and your target audience.
You can learn more about GoBridge itself at https://golangbridge.org. Visit https://bridgefoundry.org to learn more about BridgeFoundry and all of the other *Bridges you can be a part of or to start your own.
Our gains of diversity and inclusion in tech do not come easy. Nothing worth doing does. Let us endure.
— Johnny Boursiquot
