Black Tech Saturdays (BTS) was founded in 2023 in order to build and empower a new generation of tech workers and leaders in the City of Detroit. The group, founded by Johnnie and Alexa Turnage, is quickly becoming a movement that is achieving national recognition and impact. I was honored to speak to the BTS community on Saturday, May 4, on the subject of Urban Entrepreneurship. In the session, we dealt with the following topics:
- How people are employing entrepreneurship and innovation to uplift urban communities.
- What the Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative (UEI) is doing to empower urban innovators.
- How people in the BTS community can engage with and benefit from UEI programs.
We had a lively, empowering, impactful session, after which I had the opportunity to meet and talk with many of the BTS community members. One of the best aspects of Black Tech Saturdays is the connections. Each time I have been to one of the BTS events, I have connected with both new and old colleagues amidst an atmosphere of friendship and mutual support. It’s a great vibe.
The session I spoke at was not recorded, but in the interest of sharing the message with as many people as possible, I made a “desktop” version of the presentation. The presentation uses the same illustrations I used at BTS, and covers the same topics, but took place at my desk instead of in the Newlab meeting space. You can see the presentation by clicking below. I hope you find it useful and enlightening.