BLKGENIUS: a social-academic network for combating the underrepresentation of Black men in computing in the United States

There is only one reason we should seek diversity in our societies, organizations, workplaces, and schools: it is the socially just and moral thing to do. This chapter describes BLKGENIUS, a moniker I created to chronicle my journey through a PhD program. As completion of the degree program drew nearer, I began to think of ways that BLKGENIUS could shift from being a reflective journal of my experiences to supporting and uplifting Black men’s growth and development in information technology (IT) in the United States. This iteration of BLKGENIUS represents both a research project to understand the dynamic experiences of Black men in IT against a societal backdrop of barriers that inhibit participation, and an intervention mechanism to highlight successful Black men in IT. This federally funded research further establishes a stream of work critical to the advancement of diversity and inclusion in IT and a worthwhile topic of exploration.