Science & Technology

A Day In The Life: Blacks At The Cutting Edge Of Innovation

By NPR Staff

Published November 27, 2013 at 10:28 AM CST

NPR's Tell Me More is again using social media to reach out to a new community of leaders — this time, to recognize black innovators in technology. African-Americans represent just 5 percent of America's scientists and engineers, according to a 2010 study by the National Science Foundation.

After receiving an overwhelming early response with #NPRBlacksinTech, Tell Me More is building on its engagement with these leaders by asking African-American entrepreneurs and techies to profile themselves for the upcoming "A Day in the Life" social media series.

Many of the questions they will answer are from young scholars at the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science.

Through Dec. 20, tech thinkers will live-tweet a day in their lives; they'll also provide feedback to the questions that Tell Me More has collected with #NPRBlacksinTech. Tell Me More officially launched the series during a special on-air roundtable Nov. 27.

Then, on Dec. 17, Tell Me More will bring together some of these participants with other African-American technology heavyweights for an on-air Google Plus Hangout to broaden the conversation and to reflect on some of its key moments.

" 'A Day in the Life' allows us to experience in real time the imprint that African-Americans are making on our country's STEM engine. The series throws open the door to the worlds of these highly important, but largely invisible, individuals," says Tell Me More host Michel Martin. "And the engagement we're already generating with #NPRBlacksinTech demonstrates this incredible appetite for knowledge on the lives of African-Americans who are at the cutting edge of innovation."

Follow @TellMeMoreNPR and our hashtag #NPRBlacksinTech. You can also email your comments to tellmemore@npr.org.

Tell Me More is an innovator in creating compelling cross-platform segments with a dynamic digital presence, featured in live Twitter chats that brought together thousands of participants across the country.