Press & Announcements

In 2017, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney returned from his first visit to megaconference South by Southwest (SXSW) with one concern: The rooms he was in did not reflect his city’s demographics.

As a response, Kenney said, Philly should host its own big tech conference and call it the NorthStar Conference, in honor of Frederick Douglass’s anti-slavery publication. On Tuesday, the City announced the event was indeed coming together, with the help of a nonprofit called Black & Brown Founders.

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Oakland Startup Network of the Kapor Center in partnership with Black & Brown Founders is launching the Tech x Oakland (Tech x OAK) Summit, a two-day gathering for founders of color created by founders of color, which will take place April 20, 2018 (9:30 a.m.–7 p.m.) at Kapor Center and April 21, 2018 (9:30 a.m.–9 p.m.) at Port Workspaces in Oakland, California. The event will consist of workshops, lightning talks, panels, mentor sessions, and networking.

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In a push to level the playing field, Tinsel founder Aniyia Williams launched an effort called Black & Brown Founders, which held its first conference in May of this year in San Francisco.

“People who are trying to build a businesses are being told a story of how to get venture capital money, but the reality is a different one for women and people of color,” said Williams, a Penn State grad. “The checks just aren’t being cut.”

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