We’ve Built It, and Now They’re Coming…

A Look at Where /dev/color Stands Today

I am what I am because of who we all are.

This phrase underscores the central ideology of Ubuntu, a South African philosophy popularized in the United States by Desmond Tutu. A person adhering to this mantra is open and available to others, is understanding that we all belong to a greater whole. We are thus diminished when our cohorts are diminished, and uplifted when they, too, are uplifted.

At /dev/color, we adhere to this same standard. In fact, this communal empathy drives what we aim to achieve in our work: empowering our fellow Black software engineers to reach to their true potential, and understanding that the failure of one of us is the failure of us all.

Undoubtedly, in the same way that our engineers need each other to succeed, the /dev/color organization relies on so many in order to thrive. I’m thrilled to share that we’re now thriving more than ever, and our growth is especially strong thanks to key members of our community.

But I’m getting ahead of myself — because how will we know where we’re going if we don’t reflect on where we’ve been?

Almost two years ago, 11 engineers gathered for /dev/color’s first meeting. You know the story: we were a small group of Black engineers at a San Francisco restaurant, hoping to reach a few ambitious career goals. Little did we know then that soon we’d hear from dozens of other developers just like us, looking to accomplish similar feats.

A short while later, in early 2016, our momentum brought us to the Y Combinator accelerator program, a behemoth in Silicon Valley, where we learned that launching a non-profit feels a lot like getting a startup off the ground — especially since we’re inherently tied to the tech industry. At Y Combinator, we transformed /dev/color from a mentorship program to an organization working to make true, measurable impact.

And then we were off: a west coast launch, the growth of our squads, and the development of a curriculum that would keep us honest and accountable to you and to ourselves. By the end of 2016, our total participant head count was 103, and together we achieved 131 of our explicit career goals.

Although we’re just a few months into 2017, nearly 180 engineers are now participating in /dev/color to reach a combined 605 goals. With 120 career goals already accomplished, we’re on track for our most ambitious but exciting year yet.

When we shared an update on /dev/color last summer, we promised to keep you posted on how we’d be engaging allies and companies to further support our mission. Today, /dev/color is proud to publicly announce partnerships with some of the most innovative tech companies in the world, all of whom are committed to supporting and developing their Black software engineers: Airbnb, Asana, Collective Health, Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Uber, and YouTube.

As powerful as we are together, we can’t accomplish our goal of ensuring that every Black software engineer has the resources they need to succeed without the support and influence of tech titans like these. These partnerships are the exhilarating beginning of relationships that bring us closer to creating powerful networks and opportunities for Black software engineers.

We’ll accomplish this goal even more efficiently with a growing staff and a new location. Our new teammates will help make sure we continue to build a program that is meaningful and impactful, and reaches thousands of engineers in the years to come.

As many of you know, we officially launched /dev/color New York in January. We’ve already formed 6 squads and (in classic New York fashion) we’re quickly gaining ground through word-of-mouth and regular events. At a recent fireside chat with Marcus Mitchell of Google, we had a record number of attendees, with more than 100 Black engineers connecting and sharing for hours after Marcus had finished speaking.

From coast to coast — whether in Silicon Valley boardrooms or at Brooklyn meet-ups — we are all lifting each other up and working towards greatness. As we continue to grow our reach across the tech community, the real impact of our collective work will continue to show through hundreds of goals met, connections made, partnerships formed, and engineers promoted.

Indeed, /dev/color only is what it is because what who we all are.

To learn more about /dev/color, come to our next NYC Open House on Aug 22 or our SF Open House on Aug 23. You can also get involved by checking out our website. Keep updated on our progress by following our blog and twitter profile.