1. Blue Sky Innovation Blue Sky Originals
Kurt Summers lays down a challenge at black
tech summit
Cheryl V. Jackson Blue Sky Innovation
There was a lot of influence in the house Thursday night as entrepreneurs and supporters gathered at
Google Chicago to talk about ways to strengthen the black tech ecosystem.
And money was a top topic.
City Treasurer Kurt Summers urged the audience of 300 at the State of the Black Tech Ecosystem to take
advantage of his presence to help boost their ideas.
"As the only citywide black elected official, my view is if we don't leverage this platform we all have,
shame on us. And by platform, I mean access to capital," he said. "There's probably not a single equity
investor, large institutional investor, or capital provider in this country we can't get to. Shame on us if
we don't leverage me in my office."
Summers nodded to previous generations of black founders who built "a new way of thinking and
wealth creation" and influenced politics as well. "And they never had the power we have in this room,"
he added. "If they can do that, imagine what we can do. Aiming for Chicago to be the mecca for black
tech is only fitting, because it's our history. It's our right. And it's there for us."
The event, organized by Black Tech Mecca, drew the likes of Carol Adams, former Illinois Department of
Human Services secretary and former president and CEO of the DuSable Museum of African American

2. History; Tribal Ventures CEO Alan Matthew; and Jimmy Odom, senior policy adviser at the Illinois
Department of Economic Commerce.
"With all the black tech activity that's been going on in the city, we wanted to see how can we really
demystify who all the players are? How can we fit together? How are we working together to be able to
push Chicago forward?" said Fabian Elliott, founder of Black Tech Mecca and an advertising technology
consultant at Google. "We wanted to do a pulse check in a lot of ways, where the community can ... see
some of the most dynamic organizations and the people behind them, and figure out how to support
them and how they can engage."
And he challenged the city to do its part.
"The mayor has a very bold vision for Chicago to be a city fueled by technology," Elliot said. "It can be
challenging when there's a third of the city's population — the black community — that's not able to
navigate the tech ecosystem to be successful. And until the proper changes are made to correct this, the
vision that we have for the city of Chicago's tech plan will continue to be a dream and will never come to
pass."
Panelists included Thomas Stovall, founder of business intelligence app Candid Cup and leader of
BlackInTech. He said he is launching another event series this year to focus on investors.
Several presenters at the program, moderated by WVON radio host Micae Brown, cited connections
between Internet access, education and socioeconomic mobility.
"Building a thriving black tech ecosystem is vital to the future of Chicago — an ecosystem blacks are able
to leverage in order to improve their lives, whether it's to solve community issues or whether there's
financial gain," Elliott said. "The black community needs it. The city needs it. And the world needs it."
Connections were being made even before presenters left the stage.
When Dominic Liddell, founder of Coding While Black, told about starting a new coding fellowship
program and needing laptops and money for stipends, an audience member said she could help with the
computers.
Blue Ocean Logic co-founders Rhea Steele and Brian Powers said their e-commerce and social media
training program for small businesses needed help from sponsors, tech professionals and entrepreneurs.
In a flash, Demond Drummer, founder of CoderSpace, which teaches youths to code and build websites
for local businesses, was on her, offering to provide assistance to some of her clients.
Such links were the exactly point of the gathering, Elliott said.
Cheryl V. Jackson is a freelance writer.
Twitter @cherylvjackson