

What it's like to be a person of color in technology - ninago
http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/01/20/diversity-in-tech-visiting-mit-professor-does-reddit-ama/

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b6
I find myself a little irritated by the terminology "of color". My ancestors
also came from Africa. My skin also has color. Does "of color" mean anything
other than "considered to be in some arbitrary vaguely defined region(s) of
the DNA hyperspace"?

> And the mere fact that Mickens still has to identify himself as a "black
> computer scientist"

Is it true that he _has_ to do that? If so, why?

> But who owns the problem?

Does anyone necessarily own life's complicated problems? And are we sure there
actually is a problem?

> As a member of an underrepresented group

If I chose to think about my situation in certain ways, I could also define
myself to be a member of various underrepresented groups. Would it mean
anything?

I'm afraid it's probably true that some employers discriminate against people
based on their names, and that really sucks. I hope that will decrease over
time. But I have a hard time imagining that a company that would discriminate
against you based on your name would be a good place to work.

