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by Courtney Boyd, Editorial Intern
“Imagine what a black or Hispanic Mark Zuckerberg could do for innovation.” That’s what Washington Post writer Vivek Wadhwa wants his readers to do. In his article “We need a black Mark Zuckerberg,” Wadhwa expresses concern towards the small number of Blacks and Hispanics in Silicon Valley’s tech population, which falls well below the national tech-population averages of 7.1 percent and 5.3 percent respectively. Managing editor of The Root Joel Dreyfuss notes that – contrary to what the article’s title may imply – Black people have been part of Silicon Valley’s history since the beginning, but in minute numbers. To see successful, African American tech startups “we are going to have to increase the numbers of blacks and Hispanics studying engineering and science,” Wadhwa writes. The question thereafter is, “How can we make that happen?”
