Black History Month: Stories From the Open Source Community

February is Black History Month in the US and Canada, and GitHub’s The ReadME Project is using the occasion to spotlight the experiences of Black developers, open source maintainers, and advocates working to address inequity in technology. The featured stories cover a range of journeys, from career switches to efforts to make data-driven systems more inclusive.

Bringing Context to Data

One featured piece examines how data shapes public perception and everyday life—and how communities of Black Americans are organizing to reclaim the collection and interpretation of that data. The story argues that data-driven systems are not neutral and that more diverse voices are needed to provide context.

Engineers, Maintainers, and Advocates

Several profiles highlight developers at different stages of their careers:

  • Angie Jones, a Java champion, automation architect, and senior director of developer relations at Applitools, discusses how she learned to treat her differences as strengths and used that confidence to help others build better software.
  • Safia Abdalla, a software engineer at Microsoft, writer, and open source maintainer for nteract, describes how coding became more than a job after she started as a teenager. She is now focused on broadening participation in open source.
  • Brian Douglas, a GitHub developer advocate, shares how pivotal life moments pushed him to move from working for a paycheck to building something larger. After teaching himself to code, he now helps other career switchers find their own path.

Technology and Economic Change

A separate piece on the GitHub Blog features Dr. Bernice King, who offers her perspective on technology as a force for organization and economic opportunity within Black communities. As a civil rights leader, she sees tech as a critical tool for financial empowerment.

The stories reflect a shared challenge: entering a field where few colleagues share your background. The hope, as expressed by the contributors, is that these narratives will help shape a software community where future developers do not have to search as hard for representation. Readers interested in supporting related causes can contribute to The King Center or OHUB. The ReadME Project plans to continue with stories honoring Women’s History Month next month.