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PRAISE FOR UPPER HAND Upper Hand is a long overdue call-to-action that centers communities of color in the future of work by an entrepreneur that has done the work to ensure Black and Brown voices are visible when we think about the future of business. The industry at large can take notes about how to ensure underestimated communities are not left behind."
-ARLAN HAMILTON, Founder of BackStage Capital, Author of It's About Damn Time "With style and grace, humor, frankness, and justified audacity, Upper Hand tells many stories about our relationship to technology specifically, and the future of work more broadly. Fascinating stories of family migrations and the serendipities of finding spaces where we can thrive. Riveting tales recounting lives lived and built through the magic of software and freedom to loose our entrepreneurial spirits. These are refreshing stories from the right side of the digital divide-ones rarely known and sparingly told because they powerfully challenge persistent narratives about Black and Brown people's intellectual, cultural, and technological deficiencies.
On the one hand, Upper Hand reminds us of the many ways that Black and Brown folk have always pushed the cutting edge of technological innovation, whether that takes the form of hardware, software, or transforming spaces of life and work in the pursuit of our own happiness. Perhaps more importantly, the book offers the world a powerful vision of the future where the capacity to aspire, the space to imagine, the freedom to create, and the opportunity to realize dreams are the norm for the rest of us. This vision of the future is all the more compelling given all that this book reminds us about our previous and persistent efforts to create different and better futures for new generations of us."
-CHARLTON MCILWAIN, Vice Provost, Faculty Engagement and Development, NYU Center for Faculty Advancement, Professor, Media, Culture, and Communication
List of contents
Foreword ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1 Soul of a City 7
Chapter 2 Rainier Beach to Redmond: Internship Required 29
Chapter 3 Playing the Game Around Us 51
Chapter 4 Don't Let the Robots Scare You 75
Chapter 5 Money Talks 95
Chapter 6 Brand or Bust? 119
Chapter 7 Owning the Moment 141
Chapter 8 Learning the Language of Innovation 167
Chapter 9 Narrowing the Digital Divide 191
Chapter 10 The Jobs Driving the Future of Work 213
About the Author 245
Bibliography 247
Index 265
About the author
SHERRELL DORSEY leads The Plug, a one-of-a-kind publication covering the Black innovation economy. It's a subscription-based digital news and insights platform reaching thousands of Black professionals, fund managers, academic researchers, and reporters focused on the new world of work and business.
