I’m happy to have so many communities for Black professionals, especially in the tech space. There are over 600 members in the BiT Slack group, and the discussions are usually deeply technical.

Greg Greenlee created this Slack group as a companion community for his Blacks in Technology (BiT) site. You can join the Revision Path Slack group here. However, the group also has many great resources for tech professionals. This Slack group has over 200 members, and most conversations have a design and product management slant. Started by Maurice Cherry, this Slack group is a companion community for Maurice’s excellent Revision Path podcast. You can join the Black Men in Tech Slack group here.

Wayne also has regular Ask Me Anything (AMA) events with tech heavyweights like Tristan Walker. Given the founder’s expertise in entrepreneurship, a lot of the discussions are around starting and running technology companies. Black Men in Techįounded by Wayne Sutton, this group focuses on building a community for Black men who work in technology. You can join the Young Black Austin Slack group here. Their #sxsw channel is a treasure trove of information, and I think it is a great resource in the months leading up to the conference. While the focus of the group is on events around Austin, since the Capital City is a major technology hub, there are often ongoing conversations about the tech scene. The Young Black Austin Slack team has been around for a while and has over 900 members. Here are a few of the Slack groups for Black technologists. However, several have created signup forms that you can use to get an automatic invite. Since these are Slack groups, most are closed and require an invite to join. They all create valuable safe spaces, but each one approaches community in a difference way. There are several Slack groups for Blacks who work in the technology industry. Having a community is particularly useful in an industry that has demonstrated difficulties in hiring people like you. When you often find yourself at companies and tech events where no one else looks like you, knowing there is a place where others can relate to you is powerful. As a Black person who has worked in the technology sector for two decades, I can attest to the value of community.

Black slack