Risking My Life to Speak at a Tech Conference

What it’s like to be a Black woman in America

Have you ever risked your life to attend a conference?

I’m not speaking in hyperbole when I say that I will be putting myself in danger next week by traveling to Florida for a conference.

The NAACP has issued a travel advisory that reads, in part, “Under its current Governor, the State of Florida has engaged in an all-out attack on Black Americans, accurate Black history, voting rights, members of the LGBTQ+community, immigrants, women’s reproductive rights, and free speech, while simultaneously embracing a culture of fear, bullying, and intimidation by public officials…Please be advised that Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the State of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of and the challenges faced by African Americans and other minorities.”

Photo by Jonas Jacobsson on Unsplash

I have been shaken to my core by the most recent news out of Florida that middle school children will be taught about the ways that slavery was supposedly beneficial to enslaved people. The return to this kind of rhetoric is incredibly dangerous.

For centuries, this country used “science” to justify slavery, including the…