Rep. Kendrick urges black caucus to focus on equal access to tech careers

The National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) is getting behind  State Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick, D-Lithonia, to push for funding a public awareness campaign for computer science education and efforts to encourage more diversity and inclusiveness among tech companies.

The caucus passed two resolutions at the 42^nd Annual National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) conference on Nov. 29 that were modeled after  House resolutions Kendrick proposed during the 2018 legislative session of the Georgia General Assembly.

“Encouraging equal access to opportunities in technology is crucial to keeping up with the demand of a growing tech economy across our state and nation,” said Kendrick. “I am honored to bring successful state legislation to the NBSCL conference and look forward to seeing the awareness these resolutions bring to the rest of the country.”

Kendrick’s efforts were praised by Rodney Sampson, chairman and CEO of The Opportunity Hub, Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., and co-chair of the Georgia Blacks in Tech Policy Conference.

“I applaud and congratulate State Rep. Kendrick and her willingness to listen, ideate and create state and national diversity, inclusion and racial equity-based technology awareness, education, skills development, new venture creation, ecosystem building and capital formation policy,” said Sampson. “It is work like this that will help prepare people of color in America for the future of work in the 4th industrial revolution. I’m honored to be a partner in this effort to ensure that increasing innovation doesn’t isolate our nation’s majority populous. We have great work to do.”

Kendrick said the resolutions passed at the NBCSL conference reflected Georgia House Resolutions 1036 and 942 with minor changes. HR 1036, which unanimously passed in the Georgia House of Representatives, encourages the State of Georgia to fund a public awareness campaign for computer science education. HR 942 encourages private corporations to provide diverse and inclusive environments for future technology entrepreneurs.

The new resolutions will become a part of the national NBCSL agenda starting in January.

Kendrick represents District 93, which includes portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett Counties. She was elected into the House of Representatives in 2010, and currently serves on the Interstate Cooperation, Judiciary Non-Civil, Juvenile Justice, and Small Business Development committees.