A Question for You:
Have you ever learned about a Black inventor at school? Share their name and what they invented in the comments.
We asked 40 families and adults during the last Black History Month. Read on for their responses.
The Street Survey
During October’s Black Digital Innovators Showcase, our Black History Month event, TEKSHAQQ conducted a vox pop with 40 local families and adults. Only one participant could name a Black tech innovator; most mentioned sportspeople, entertainers, or activists.
Some of the responses we got were: Michael Jordan, Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and, believe it or not, Sir Isaac Newton!
One young person remarked:
“Black people don’t invent things.”
– Young person in the community
Some of these personalities are those typically featured in schools and communities during Black History Month – Black entertainers, sportspeople and activists. No Black scientists were named. During the Showcase, after learning about the 30 Black Digital Innovators, one participant remarked:
“Black innovators aren’t taught in school and are significant, and made an impact in history. ” – P, Participant
Understanding the Gap
This demonstrates a significant knowledge gap in schools and the wider community, where Black contributions to innovation and technology are rarely taught or highlighted.
“This lack of representation is not a passive omission; it actively shapes social and professional outcomes. Persistent stereotypes, that Black people do not invent, do not innovate in technology, and make few contributions to science or digital progress, reinforce racial prejudices that erode community cohesion … Such views promote the false perception that Black communities are perpetual consumers rather than creators, and that their culture is defined only by music, sport, or activism. When these assumptions circulate unchallenged, they foster racial bias, social fragmentation, and exclusion.” (Eguara, 2025)
Implications for Careers and Community
1. Representation matters: Lack of visibility in tech perpetuates stereotypes and prejudice, We refer again to this comment:
“Black people don’t invent things.”
– Young person in the community
2. Career pathways: Young Black people may not see themselves as innovators or consider tech careers if they do not see others like themselves in these fields. Following is what research tells us regarding representation or the lack of it.
a. Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1986, 1997, 2001)
Seeing someone ‘like me’ succeed boosts belief in one’s ability to succeed. Relatable role models boost motivation; a lack of them can kill it.
b. Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan,1985, 2016; Eguara, 2023)
Seeing others like you succeed boosts relatedness (‘people like me belong here’) and competence (‘I can do it too’). Lack of representation erodes relatedness and undermines both intrinsic motivation and persistence.
c. Stereotype Threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995)
Fear of confirming negative stereotypes about your social group – e.g. race, gender, ethnicity. Awareness of such negative stereotypes undermines performance and motivation. Lack of positive role models reinforces stereotype threat.
d. Identity-based Motivation (Eguara, 2023; Oyserman, 2015)
Motivation is stronger when goals feel congruent with one’s social identity. If you never see ‘your kind of people’ in a space, you may disengage because it does not fit your identity.
3. Community cohesion: Misconceptions that Black people do not innovate but only make use of the inventions of others can reinforce biases and limit cross-community understanding. Stereotypes and false ideas about others can make it harder for people in a community to trust and understand each other. Research shows that these biases can weaken the sense of togetherness that helps communities thrive (Arant et al., 2021; Laurence, 2019).
TEKSHAQQ directly addressed this gap by providing empowering representation in the form of a showcase highlighting 30- present-day Black innovators.
Click on the link below to see what we did:
http://tekshaqq.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/BDIS-IMPACT-REPORT.pdf
And remember to share in the comments the name of a Black inventor you learned about in school and what they invented.
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References:
- Arant, R., Larsen, M., & Boehnke, K. (2021). Acceptance of diversity as a building block of social cohesion: Individual and structural determinants. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, Article 612224. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.612224
- Bandura, A. (1986). Solid foundations for thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice Hall.
- Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of self-control. W. H. Freeman.
- Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1–26.
- Deci, E. L. & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Plenum.
- Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2016). Optimizing students’ motivation in the era of testing and pressure: A self-determination theory perspective. In W. Liu, J. Wang, & R. Ryan, (Eds.), Building autonomous learners (pp.9-29). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-630-0_2
- Eguara, O. (2023). This is How We Do It: An exploratory multiple case study of the contextual factors supporting engagement in the personal learning networks of six 10- to 16-year-olds in England (Doctoral thesis, Lancaster University). Lancaster University.
- Eguara, O. (2025). Black Digital Innovators Showcase impact report. TEKSHAQQ C.I.C. http://tekshaqq.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/BDIS-IMPACT-REPORT.pdf
- Laurence, J., Schmid, K., & Hewstone, M. (2019). Ethnic diversity, ethnic threat and social cohesion: (Re)‑evaluating the role of perceived out‑group threat and prejudice in the relationship between community ethnic diversity and intra‑community cohesion. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 45(3), 395–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1490638
- Oyserman, D. (2015). Identity-based motivation. In J. D. Wright (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (2nd ed., pp. 234–240). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118900772.etrds0171
- Steele, C. M., & Aronson, J. (1995). Stereotype threat and the intellectual test performance of African Americans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(5), 797–811. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.69.5.797