The team at CodePath.org is devastated and outraged by the murder of George Floyd. During a time that has been traumatic and exhausting for so many members of our community, we stand with everyone grieving George Floyd, shouldering the impacts of racism everyday, fighting for justice, and protesting for progress.
CodePath.org was founded to contribute to efforts to undo the effects of structural racism and inequality in the education system and lift up Black and Latinx students. This week, yet again, we are reminded how far we have to go. Black Americans must overcome 400 years of systemic obstacles to reach their full potential. We will continue to do everything we can to chip away at those obstacles, but there’s so much work left to do.
As an organization founded by people of color, working with students of color, building communities of color, and enabling students of color to obtain positions of influence, we see the effects of racism everyday. We see how our Black students must overcome lack of visible representation, segregated and underfunded schools, perversely low expectations, and blatant discrimination just to make it into our classrooms. During the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve seen our Black students shoulder highly disproportionate health and financial impacts. And we see how hard it is for them to learn, or even live, with the knowledge that buying groceries, going jogging, driving a car, walking around their neighborhoods, going home from dinner, sitting in their own living rooms, even going to sleep in their own homes can become dangerous. It is not fair.
As we’ve grappled with our own sadness and anger over the past two weeks, we’ve become even more fiercely motivated in our work to challenge the racial dynamics on college campuses, bolster Black students’ confidence in their own power, and connect all students with networks of influence to not just give voice, but also to create pathways to power. We will begin immediately, starting with the 800 students and over 160 professional engineer mentors signed up to participate in CodePath’s programs this summer.
We will:
- Create safe spaces and online support groups for any CodePath.org student who has experienced racial trauma to join, share their stories, and find comfort
- Continue to organize events and workshops with Black tech leaders and other role models of color to empower our students to succeed in their careers
- Continue to organize events and workshops with allies to help our students build sustainable networks of mentors and influencers
We cannot promise change overnight, but we promise to keep working tirelessly on our own corner of this monumental problem. We promise to push everyday to be an anti-racist organization. And we stand with everyone fighting for justice.
With love and strength,
The CodePath.org Team