2010 marks the second year that eWEEK has commemorated Black History Month with a focus on contributions African Americans have made to the IT industry. Last year, we took a look at leaders in the world of corporate IT, such as Charles Phillips, president of Oracle Corp., as well as technical experts such Mark Dean, an IBM Fellow and vice president of technical strategy and worldwide operations for Big Blue. Dean’s history at IBM goes deep. He was chief engineer for the development of the IBM PC/AT and holds three of the nine patents for the original IBM PC. However, this year, rather than focus on individuals already well entrenched in the IT industry and holding sway in the upper ranks, eWEEK decided to take a look at up-and-comers. This slide show looks at folks who are relatively new to the industry either working for startups or promoting blacks and other minorities to pursue IT careers. This includes both individuals and organizations that help to encourage or mentor African Americans who want to get started in IT.
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