Press Releases

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force will travel to Silicon Valley next week to announce principles for building an inclusive tech economy where economic growth is broad-based and Black employees can thrive at all levels of the industry.

This is the members’ third congressional delegation trip to Silicon Valley since the CBC TECH 2020 diversity initiative was launched in May 2015. In October 2017, members met with tech executives, Black employees, and nonprofit organizations who were working to make the industry’s pipeline more inclusive. During these conversations, members heard concerns about the experiences of Black employees in the industry, which have, in a lot of cases, resulted in lower retention rates. Additionally, members met with Black founders and venture capital investors who were facing challenges accessing capital. Based on these meetings, the members developed 5 S.M.A.R.T. Investment Principles to help the industry address these equity issues and others.

Congressional Black Caucus Diversity Task Force Co-Chairs, Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) and Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13), will be joined by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, and Congressman Gregory Meeks (NY-05), also a member of the Financial Services Committee, in Silicon Valley on April 30-May 1.

“The tech industry has created extraordinary wealth and opportunity, but a growing number of communities and Black employees are being left out of the growth,” said Congressman Butterfield.  “Our goal for this trip is to bridge the gap by urging companies to use the power they have generated to empower workers and invest in their communities so every employee can thrive.”

“My congressional district has been transformed by the technology sector. While many workers have benefited from this booming industry, this prosperity has not reached Black residents in the Bay Area,” said Congresswoman Lee. “As the CBC Tech 2020 Task Force returns to Silicon Valley, our focus is expanding to encompass not only equity in the workforce, but also ensuring opportunity and inclusion for Black residents across our tech-driven economy.

The following events will be open to the media:

Monday, April 30

Media Availability

3:30 PM PST
Oakland, CA

STEAM Roundtable: Ready Today; Preparing for Tomorrow
4:00 PM PST
Oakland, CA

Tuesday, May 1

CBC TECH TALK: Building Black Wealth in Tech
3:00 PM PST
San Francisco, CA

Media outlets who plan to attend the events should RSVP to meaghan.lynch@mail.house.gov (Butterfield) and tasion.kwamilele@mail.house.gov (Lee) for location information.

The events will stream live on the Congressional Black Caucus Facebook page.