Black History Month – Apple Steps Up

Published On February 18, 2021 | By Tom Huskerson | News and Analysis, Now You Know

Apple, as a corporation, has really stepped up during Black History Month. We all understand that Silicon Valley has diversity a problem. And as any drug or alcohol counselor will tell you, the first step to solving a problem is acknowledging that you have the problem in the first place.

Part of acknowledging the problem, at least among black people, is to celebrate our heritage and help to make a difference in our communities. Again, Apple is stepping up.

One of the ways Apple is celebrating Black History Month is by featuring African-American photographers across America in a series titled, “Hometown.”  The photo feature points to the simple premise: black photographers telling the story of their hometown. All shot, of course, on the iPhone 12 Pro. These photos tell the stories of black people in cities across America and reveal the diversity of African-American people.

But showing America who black people are is just the beginning. Apple has launched the the Inaugural Entrepreneurial Camp for Black Founders and Developers.

According to the Apple news release, 2019 saw the first Apple Entrepreneur Camp. “The camp was an immersive tech lab for app-driven companies founded and led by developers from underrepresented backgrounds with a class of women founders and developers. Program participants have gone on to secure major funding rounds, garner numerous awards and accolades, and significantly expand both their teams and app users worldwide.”

Apple designed the program to give minority developers a chance to “take their existing app experience to the next level by mastering new technical skills, applying a critical lens to the user experience, and more through hands-on technology labs, one-on-one code-level guidance from Apple experts and engineers, and mentorship, inspiration, and insights from top Apple leaders.”

The Black Unity Apple Watch will only be available in February.

Finally Apple is offering customers its special edition Black Unity iWatch.

The watch is in celebration of Black History Month and is pretty much the same as the regular Apple iWatch Series 6 with a few several subtle differences.

The aluminum case, Apple says, is made from 100-percent recycled aerospace-grade alloy, and has a “Black Unity” laser etching on the back. In addition the watch comes with a special unity watch face, whose colors match the band. According to Apple the watch face has a pattern that changes dynamically as the watch moves. 

Now you know.

 

 

 

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About The Author

Tom Huskerson Bio Born in Richmond Virginia Tom Huskerson is a military veteran who settled in California after his discharge. Tom attended Santa Barbara City College where he began his writing career as a campus reporter. He worked as an intern news reporter for the Santa Barbara News-Press writing feature stories before moving on to San Francisco. At San Francisco State University Tom studied broadcast communications and began to focus on the Internet. He completed his graduate thesis on Internet advertising. Tom was the first student to ever focus on the Internet as a graduate student at San Francisco State University. After graduation he went to work for Zona Research in California’s Silicone Valley. As a research associate Tom supported senior analyst writing on the latest developments in the Internet industry. During the dot com boom Tom worked for several web businesses as a market researcher and analyst. As a writer and researcher Tom has authored various technical works including a training program for Charles Schwab security. Other projects included professional presentations on workplace violence and hiring security contractors. Tom has also written both fiction and non-fiction works and blogging for a travel website. He has published two books of short stories and completed two novels. Tom is the owner of Scribe of Life Literature and EbonyCandle.com. Tom is not the chief editor for the OnTechStreet. com. A news and information blog that focuses on tech news for African-Americans. The blog is the result of his desire to inform the African American community of the dangers and benefits of the cyber age. In his blog Tom reports on information security, new and analysis, scams and hoaxes, legal happenings and various topics that arise from the age of information. Tom believes that technology is a necessary tool for black people and they should know what is happening. Tom writes believing that techno speak is for the professional and that valuable information can be communicated using plain language. As a result he has embraced the motto, Less Tech, More Knowledge.

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