6 Ways Your Hackathon Organizing Team Can Support the Black Community
Recently, I’ve seen a lot of collegiate hackathons posting on social media voicing their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The hackathon community has a responsibility to do more than a one-time post on social media. The TechTogether team has created a list of action items to start taking this work offline.
If you are an organizer or hacker, I would love to hear any ideas you have in the comments.
1. Provide donations in the form of prizes.
If you think a donation isn’t enough to motivate your hackers to win, you are wrong. We gave donations in the form of prizes at SheHacks in 2018 and it was a huge success. Let the hackers pick where their donation goes or give them a selection to choose from.
2. Purchase books on racism or movies for your team. Set up watch parties and book clubs.
Share the costs of purchasing educational resources with your organizing team and set up events or programs that incentivize them to participate.
3. As hackathons go virtual, start thinking about how you're going to provide under-resourced hackers with laptops and wifi.
Too often I’m hearing that virtual hackathons will make it easier for more students to participate. Please keep in mind, that not all students have access to laptops or wifi and therefore, will need to be sent resources.
Team up with other hackathons to pool together funds to purchase these resources and put together a rental program.
4. Host workshops to raise money for charity.
Due to the coronavirus, virtual workshops are heavily attended right now. Recruit members of your organizing team and community to host workshops that raise money for organizations that support the black community.
5. Gather your community together to provide technical help to black-owned businesses.
Here is a link to a volunteer opportunity to use your skills to help support black-owned businesses get a better online presence.
6. Create affinity groups within your organizing team.
Create a group or slack channel dedicated to your black and latinx organizers and hackers. Host virtual events specifically for them and/or put in place a mentorship program.
