Since 1992, Ken Granderson has been dedicated to one goal: “To help close the digital divide by establishing world-class leadership in the technology space by creating technology products and solutions by and for people of African descent.”

Granderson, a leader in community-based technology initiatives since the 1990s, is the founder and Chief Technology Officer of BlackFacts.com, a historical database and news site dedicated to the stories and contributions of people of color. Throughout his career, Granderson has used his skills as a software developer to bring the benefits of connected technology to organizations, businesses, and communities in Boston and New York City. 

His first company, Inner-City Software, was conceived with the goal of “bringing communities of color into the Information Age.” Through Inner-City Software, he digitally reproduced resources about Black history—formerly only available via print books—and made them available to a much wider audience. Inner-City Software also created and managed websites for organizations like Blackside Productions (Eyes on the Prize) and Boston Blacks Online, an email-based community networking group that significantly pre-dates social media platforms. Since the 1990s, Granderson has worked with countless organizations to expand access to technology.

The digital divide runs along socioeconomic and demographic lines. Nationally, one in three African Americans does not have access to a computer at home, and 35% of Black households don’t have a broadband connection. And representation is dismal in the technology field. Most of its leading companies—Apple, Google, and Facebook, among others—report small numbers of Black employees overall, and even less at the managerial and C-suite levels.

“The only game I am interested in playing is the one called ‘Changing the Game,’” writes Granderson. By extending the reach of technology and the opportunities it offers, including the chance for a community to shape narratives about its own history, Granderson believes he will.

“The only game I am interested in playing is the one called ‘Changing the Game.'”

Ken Granderson

What keeps you motivated in your work to close the digital divide?

I lived in a neighborhood with some young men who were into car customization. I’m pretty sure they didn’t go to automotive school, but they could build a car from scratch because they had a passion. They figured it out. Community knowledge–sharing helped them solve a problem they cared about. I also saw kids learning how to burn CDs—they didn’t learn this in a computer science class. They were passionate about it and figured it out.

The real challenge is helping folks who are trying to get through day-to-day life figure out how to use technology to make it easier. That’s the fact that people miss. I believe that if you can let people see how technology can help them, they’ll figure out how to get connected.

You’ve talked about the power of the Internet to preserve and broadcast Black stories and information. Tell us about the philosophy behind BlackFacts.com.

So much history has been lost to the sands of time, especially oral history. If your people have a colonial history, a lot of times your stories were purposely wiped out of human memory. We’ve all heard the saying that history books were written by the victors. This is not just a problem for Black communities, but also native or Latinx communities and for women and LGBTQ+ people in most communities.

Because technology is available to everyone, we have the ability for the first time in history to be in control of our story. For younger people, I say the vision of BlackFacts is being the Black Wikipedia, and for older folks, we are the 21st century realization of W.E.B. DuBois’s lifelong dream, the Encyclopedia Africana: Black thought written by Black people. No longer do we have to rely on well-meaning, fair-minded people outside of the Black community to make sure our stories are preserved. We are doing this ourselves.

How would you describe the impact of technology on your community?

I’ve always wanted to see my community being able to enjoy some of the benefits that I stumbled upon because I happened to be a nerd.

Tech is an amplifier. This function underlies all the work I did: help people recognize that technology can serve your goals. Technology puts you in the same realm of opportunity as Microsoft or Google. Early on, I saw that I had control over how I wanted to use technology. It was so empowering. I’ve always viewed it as a potentially infinite empowering tool. The world of computer technology opens you up to unlimited potential opportunities to play in the same playgrounds as the big dogs. And that has driven everything I’ve done. 

What advice would you give to young people of color entering the technology field?

I would encourage folks to try and find work you enjoy. I heard this back in the 1980s: “Work’s only work when you’d rather be doing something else.” I’ve run into enough people in the tech industry who are miserable. I would not wish that on anyone. I view software as my creative outlet. That’s how I channel my creativity. Find something where you can really pour yourself into it so it speaks to you and it’s not just a “job.”

There’s so many different opportunities and roles under the banner of technology—a lot of people think they “have to code.” As someone who’s been coding for 30 years, I don’t buy that. I’ve forgotten more languages than most people will ever learn. I’d encourage people to think creatively about higher level things: architecture and systems rather than just the hands-on level. 

A comfortable career can become a comfortable rut. Don’t let yourself get stuck. Always look ahead. What would you like to be able to tell your grandkids you did?

What are you most excited about for the future of connectivity? 

I feel hopeful. There are tens of thousands of Black folks in technology who are ready for some Black technology creators and owners to show up. They’re going to have the same effect as Tiger Woods in golf or the Williams sisters in tennis. Younger kids of color will say, “I see somebody who looks like me. I can do this, too.” 

I believe we’re on the cusp of breaking through those barriers and gaining more representation at the forefront of the industry. In the past year, millions of people outside of the Black community have learned for the first time history hidden from them for a century or more, like Black Wall Street or Juneteenth. They have seen videos of the types of issues that people like Malcolm X were branded as ‘militant’ for speaking out against 60 and more years ago.

“I believe we’re on the cusp of breaking through those barriers and gaining more representation at the forefront of the industry.”

Ken Granderson

BlackFacts.com has responded to this new awareness by adding over 200 videos about Black history and news to our collection of over 300,000 historical and current news articles, collected and organized by our custom content management system Timbuktu™.

We have video series on everything from African Empires of the past to key events and movements in the Black American experience to series on Black Women in Herstory, Black History Heroes, and Afro-Latino Trailblazers, and our Black Facts Minute—a unique Black History video for every day of the year.

Our videos are free to the public, and can also be played on the internal or public web sites of companies who want to learn about and support diversity.

We are also creating new features like our upcoming ‘Say Their Names’ interactive digital memorial to hundreds of victims of racial violence. We are always looking for new methods to share the history and achievements of communities of color, so that those who already knew are reminded of what we have done and continue to do, and those who didn’t know yet get to see what they’ve been missing.

We believe that people from all walks of life are finally ready to appreciate the greatness from all sides of the human family, and connectivity is the means for us to transcend race, geography, and class and see ourselves as one big family.