Stories are surfacing about the Prince that only a few close friends knew. In one that’s getting attention, the organization #YesWeCode is paying tribute to the music legend for his quiet generosity:
“#YesWeCode would like to honor Prince and thank him for his inspired vision for #YesWeCode. Prince’s commitment to ensuring young people of color have a voice in the tech sector continues to impact the lives of future visionaries creating the tech of tomorrow.”
The mission of #YesWeCode is to connect 100,000 urban youth to technology jobs. Prince’s friend and lawyer Van Jones spoke on HNL’s Dr. Drew Show about the musician’s passion for uplifting African-American young people, while shunning the spotlight:
The L.A. Times recently reported Jones’ recollection of this conversation with Prince in 2014, which led to the launch of #YesWeCode:
“After the Trayvon Martin verdict, I was talking to Prince and he said, ‘You know, every time people see a young Black man wearing a hoodie, they think, he’s a thug. But if they see a young white guy wearing a hoodie they think, oh, that might be Mark Zuckerberg. That might be a dot-com billionaire.’”
Jones blamed racism, but Prince responded that the Black community has failed to create tech entrepreneurs like the Facebook CEO.
SOURCE: #Yes We Code, L.A. Times | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO SOURCE: Twitter
SEE ALSO: Black Girls CODE Empowers Young Women Of Color To Fall In Love With Technology
Prince Helped Launch Tech Initiative For Urban Youth was originally published on newsone.com