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WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A BLACK MAN IN TECH
by LeRon L. Barton
As a Black man who has worked in the technology sector for more than 20 years, I can tell you that my race has almost always been a factor in how I am viewed and treated. In many of the companies I have worked for, if not in all of them, I have been one of, and sometimes the sole, African American in my department.
When you’re the only Black person in an office, you notice it.
Glancing around, you notice that no one looks like you, talks like you, or has a story like yours. Nobody has the gall to approach you and say, “Hey, out of the 40 people on this floor, you’re the only Black guy.” But you sense that everyone else notices it too.
You sense it from the stares you receive when ...
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