Racism in the IT Industry

ComputerWorld's Don Tennant continues to discuss the issue of racism in the IT industry on his blog. I encourage BDPA members to read his latest blog entry. He shares two e-mails that he received in response to his editorial about the race issue in IT, titled "Destructive Labels." These two e-mails highlight the disconnect that exists between people who have dramatically different outlooks with respect to racism.

The first e-mail came from a reader who holds the view that Tennant's columns on the subject, which have advocated a healthy discussion of the race issue in light of the experiences of many African Americans in IT, "play into the hands of those too lazy to work for what they want."

The second one came from Dr. Victor Onafuye, president of Pixel Information Technology Corp. in Homewood, Ill.

Please take a moment to read both emails.

I am interested in your thoughts on racism in the IT industry? Does racism still exist in your view? Will racism impact on the ability of African Americans to advance their careers in the IT industry from the classroom to the boardroom? What, if anything, should BDPA do about it?