March 2, 2018
Black History Month at Google Fiber - An Overview and Look Back
Wednesday marked the end of Black History Month - and what a month it was! Google Fiber is proud to have celebrated with community partners across our Fiber cities. We hosted over two dozen events across the country that focused on encouraging meaningful conversations, celebrating accomplishments, and giving participants an opportunity to have interactive experiences with historic places like Selma, Alabama.
Highlights:
Huntsville
Google Fiber sponsored the inaugural Because of Them, We Can event celebrating the accomplishments of African Americans from Alabama, including Angela Davis, Carl Lewis, and Condoleezza Rice” -- all Alabamians -- as well as others. It was an afternoon of music, spoken word, and powerful discussions.
Salt Lake City
Our team took Google Expeditions Cardboard VR (virtual reality) technology to students at Newman Elementary, one of our valued Title One school partners. We used the time to demonstrate how infrastructure to deliver superfast Internet is built to homes and how it helps lead to innovations like VR. We led students through a Google Expedition of Civil Rights history, where they learned about key leaders and landmarks. Their VR journey included a visit to the Lincoln Monument steps where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech; to the Supreme Court steps where the students learned about Thurgood Marshall and the Brown v. Board of Education decision; and then concluded with a visit to the Selma-to-Montgomery March museum.
Nashville
Building on the success of Marvel’s Black Panther, “afrofuturism” was the theme of the Fiber Space as Nashvillians came together for a panel discussion to define “afrofuturism,” media representation of African Americans, and what it means to be a “Black Geek.” Check out Nashville Public Radio’s coverage at: How a Black Superhero Inspired Conversations about Race and Technology in Nashville.
Austin
Google Fiber celebrated with the Carver Branch of the Austin Public Library where over 200 members of the community gathered and utilized Google Cardboard virtual reality technology to experience and learn about significant contributions of African Americans throughout history, such as the Artifacts of the Tuskegee Airmen exhibit.
Atlanta
Over 50 students from Dillard University, Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Xavier College came to the Google office in Atlanta for a Hackathon. The students enjoyed food and fun while they created projects in a 24-hour timespan with the help of their peers and Google engineers. The projects spanned from fun to serious, with apps to help make reporting crimes on campus easier, interactive campus maps, and to help students find computer science tutors!
While Google Fiber’s work to advance technology access and inclusion happens year-round, we take pride in the community and school partnerships that came together during February to celebrate Black History Month. We look forward to even more opportunities for learning and growth in 2018.
Posted by Daynise Joseph, Community Impact Manager