What it's like to be a person of color in technology

I find myself a little irritated by the terminology "of color". My ancestors also came from Africa. My skin also has color. Does "of color" mean anything other than "considered to be in some arbitrary vaguely defined region(s) of the DNA hyperspace"?

> And the mere fact that Mickens still has to identify himself as a "black computer scientist"

Is it true that he has to do that? If so, why?

> But who owns the problem?

Does anyone necessarily own life's complicated problems? And are we sure there actually is a problem?

> As a member of an underrepresented group

If I chose to think about my situation in certain ways, I could also define myself to be a member of various underrepresented groups. Would it mean anything?

I'm afraid it's probably true that some employers discriminate against people based on their names, and that really sucks. I hope that will decrease over time. But I have a hard time imagining that a company that would discriminate against you based on your name would be a good place to work.