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Minneapolis Boy Launches New Initiative to Support Black Youth In Robotics

A 12-year-old Minneapolis boy launched a new initiative to support young Black kids in technology. His goal is to inspire others that look like him to join or stay in the tech field, specifically robotics.

D.J. Comeaux launched Afro Bot Boyz earlier this week for “Black youth to come together, encourage and support one another by combining resources,” the company website stated. According to Fox 9, “recent studies continue to reveal black men and women are underrepresented and under-compensated in the tech industry.”

Afro Bot Boyz is hoping to change that. The young entrepreneur beamed as he spoke to the local station about his logo, a brown skin boy with an afro winking. “Okay, I’m going to break this down for you–he’s me, basically, with no glasses,” he told Fox 9. “He’s winking to let anyone looking at him know it’s going to be okay.”

D.J. said he was inspired by tech-wiz Shuri from the blockbuster film “Black Panther.” “[I was inspired] not by Black Panther the superhero, but his sister Shuri. She used to create all of the designs and technology so I kind of really like that,” he said.

The pre-teen’s mother Kayann Comeaux spoke on the importance of her son’s venture, “We support this industry, why are we not supporting them (Black children) to create and work behind the scenes and create the coding, the tech, and the language to have their own companies?” She continued, “A lot of times children lack confidence for various reasons, so to have confidence in this, in something that’s smart, educational and maybe not as popular?”

This summer D.J. will host a meet-up to gauge interest. More info can be found on his website.

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