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CODING AND ACTIVISM! DONATE TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF RADICAL, BLACK AND BROWN TECHIES
We are Hands Up United, a collective of politically engaged minds building towards liberation of oppressed Black, Brown and poor people through education, art, civil disobedience, advocacy and agriculture. Since August 9th, 2014 we’ve been working hard everyday to bring systemic and sustainable change by creating high impact programs. Check out our Tech Impact initiative:
ABOUT OUR TECH IMPACT INITIATIVE
In preparation for the Weekend of Resistance in October 2014, youth activists in Ferguson called for a boycott of large corporations and the reinvesting of dollars into local black and brown community-driven businesses. One of the problems we faced with this strategy is these small businesses had no web presence. With this realization, Hands Up United decided to move the revolution to the cloud by introducing the Roy Clay Sr. Workshop.
The Roy Clay Sr. Workshop is a six-week intensive program aimed at teaching web development to St. Louis residents between the ages of 16 and 30, with the goal of strengthening local, black and brown-owned businesses and nonprofits in the area. At the end of the program, participants receive a $500 stipend and a laptop (valued at $700) to continue their work in the community.
No donation is too small, and now every donation will be matched!
EVERY $1 DONATED WILL BE MATCHED
ThoughtWorks, a global IT consulting firm who partnered with us during our first Tech Impact pilot program, has pledged to match every dollar donated (up to $15,000). This means if you donate $50.00 we will receive $100.00. Our goal is to raise $30,000 to train 12 radical techies this summer.
WHY FOCUS ON CODING AND ACTIVISM?
Civil unrest is growing exponentially around the world in response to increased brutality against oppressed communities. Now more than ever, millions of people across demographics and communities are rising together to resist exploitation, racism, and state terrorism.
Our training programs focus on political education about the positive and negative implications technology has on our society, coding languages for web development and direct volunteer hours with small business and social impact organizations in our community. As we move forward, some important questions are:
What role does technology and the technologist play a role in activism? How is technology both helping and hindering the effectiveness of activism? How do we hold technologists accountable for creating socially aware, community-conscious, and politically committed techies without settling solely for the appearance of diversifying the tech sector?
HOW WILL THE FUNDS BE USED?
Our goal is to launch 3 cohorts in 2015. Each cohort costs between $15,000 - $20,000, depending on class size. We are seeking to raise funds for our second cohort, currently in progress, and our fall class. Donations will go towards:
Personal laptops for students
Stipends for students
Food for students
Materials and equipment needed for the program
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