As a human that people in America would call black/African-American I really dislike articles like this. I understand that some black people feel like they cant relate to others, but I find the entire premise of such arguments about homogeneous workplaces and cultures completely ridiculous. The culture of 'black' people in Alabama will be very different from Howard or Washington DC, does that mean Alabama is unwelcoming ?

Secondly, who cares what schools top tier companies are targeting. If Howard is churning out good software engineers that are so good they cant be ignored, a) they wont need Google, et al to hire them b) their skills will speak for themselves when they apply for a job

It seems like so many people (black, white, Asian, etc) actually buy into this socially constructed division by culture or skin color which is completely insane to me. To me it's like dividing people into groups by eye or hair color and saying you feel unwelcomed by the blue eyed people.

Articles like this seem to reinforce the notion that there is this 'otherness' of culture and skin color. If Google ,Facebook, etc are ignoring software engineers that are top notch from Howard and other historically black colleges, that would be a problem, but I doubt that is the case. Most companies want people that can get the job done well and know their stuff in my experience (I've worked in Silicon Valley and Fortune 50 companies).

The article seems to repeatedly make the point that the black people at tech companies were feeling out of place while working at Google, etc. as if any Indian, Asian, or White person do not experience the same thing (someone from India will have to learn the culture of SV just like someone from Howard Univ. or some white person from Alaska). Who cares if you dont watch the same TV shows or read the same books. If anything , I think thats a good thing, as its a starting point to learn more about something you havent experienced. I think the most important thing is mindset and attitude going into situations like this. Curiosity and open mindedness would do wonders for the people in the article who feel like 'others' in SV.

I dont feel like the culture of SV is as homogeneous as they are trying to project, but this 'otherness' is the real projection

I've never been openly been discriminated against, or felt like the color of my skin had anything to do with my success in Silicon Valley or the East Coast while working at tech companies. I've found almost all people of all 'races' to only care about competence and efficiency (other than the occasional jerk or misanthrope)