Category: Culture

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Diversity People

I have a dream

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity. But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free.

One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.

This will come as no surprise that I’m a proponent of Affirmative Action. However, lest you think I believe in Affirmative Action because I’m some kind of fuzzy headed 60’s flower child liberal do-gooder with more ideals than sense, be aware that my interest in Affirmative Action is purely selfish in nature.

It is my opinion that while this nation is one where most of the wealth and power is held in the hands of one race, and one race alone, it will never be great. It can never hope to be great. It will always limp along in its own blind self-image of greatness, smug in the belief that great power deserves great respect; yet most of the people of this world, and too many in this country, see the United States as the ultimate hypocrite — the land that calls itself equal when it is anything but.

 

So we have come here today to dramatize an appalling condition. In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir.

This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation.

So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.

 

I was disappointed but not surprised when President Bush decided to throw the power of the White House against the University of Michigan’s admissions policy, one in which factors such as ethnicity, neighborhood, and economic status can influece a person’s admission into the University. President Bush says using race as a factor in college admissions is unconstitutional.

I agree. But since race has been a factor in college admissions for hundreds of years in this country, I think it’s only fair to continue this practice until everyone has had a chance to play. After all, Bush himself benefited by this unconstitutional application of race, and the connections to power and wealth, in his own entrance to Yale.

 

We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, “When will you be satisfied?” we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

 

My interest in Affirmative Action is purely selfish. I believe that if blacks had been freed when the immortal words, “All men are created equal” were written, we would have a different country today. And if blacks had been treated with respect and given opportunities several hundred years ago, instead of only the last few decades, we would have a better country today.

If blacks had been allowed to become doctors, we might have cures now for cancer. If blacks had been allowed to become scientists, we might have fusion power; harnessing the energy of the sun in a safe manner so that even in the cities amidst all the lights we might still see the stars because the skies are free of smog.

We might have less poverty, less crime, more music and art and literature. What plays were unwritten because blacks were not allowed to read or write? What great books have been lost? If we had not denied equal opportunity to so many in this country for so long, we could truly be great today, and no one, no one could deny this. I believe this.

 

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

 

Some people say that Affirmative Action is discrimination, a positive discrimination, and I say so what if it is? If the saw that cut me one day is all I have to save my life against the winter cold, can I be blamed for picking it up again to cut wood?

We must use every weapon in this war against the status quo because those who seek to protect the status quo will use every weapon in their power to resist, up to an including the use of the term “discrimination”. How this word must taste of ashes in their mouths.

Blacks make up 13% of the population of this country — this means that 1 out of about 8 people in this country is black. In a truly equal society, then, every profession in this country should have, at least, one black for every eight people. Stand up the next time you’re at your job and look around you? Do you see one black person for every eight employees? I know that in my computer technology field I don’t see this. In fact, I have been at some conferences and among several hundred people attending I’ve not seen one black face. Not one black face.

Don’t believe me? Next time you attend a technology conference, look around you. What do you see? Are there blacks among the attendees? Among the speakers? Or are the only blacks you see those who bus the tables at lunch.

If blacks had not been denied opportunty all those many years ago, where would my field be today? Would we have had computers earlier? Would we still be using keyboards and monitors or would computers be in the air around us, listening for our spoken words and with the ability to display an image in the air in front of us anywhere we are. What could we do? What couldn’t we do.

 

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor’s lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

 

If our country had been based on tolerance all those years ago when it was born, how much richer as a people would we be now? Would we have fought the wars we fought? Would we be faced with a war in Iraq now? How different would this world be if we had been the first to show that people of different races, and religions, and beliefs could exist side by side in harmony.

We had a choice then and walked down the wrong path and we’ve paid the price and we continue to pay the price and it is a heavy one. Let’s not continue to walk down that path — it’s time for change, true change. The status quo only benefits a few who ask too many of us to die to defend it. I think its time we stop being the pawns and started thinking for ourselves.

I think it’s time we started living up to the ideals that we put into words and song, “The land of the brave, the home of the free.”

 

This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with a new meaning, “My country, ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring.” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania! Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado! Let freedom ring from the curvaceous peaks of California! But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia! Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee! Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

Martin Luther King, Jr. I have a Dream

Happy birthday, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Categories
Diversity Technology

Gasp! Women…speak?

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Sorry, but this is all just too good and I must share:

 

Don’t invite only male speakers

If all your speakers are always men, women will notice and not feel welcome. Role models people can identify with are important to staying interested in a field.

Do ask women to speak

It’s surprisingly easy to find technically brilliant female computer scientists willing to come speak to your group. If you explain that you are trying to encourage women in computers, many women will be even more likely to speak at your event. Women speakers are probably the number one way to get women to come to your event. They will be able to see a role model, ask her questions about her experiences, and for a few hours at least, not feel like the only woman who’s interested in computers. Be sure that when you do invite a woman speaker that you advertise the event well, especially to women.

One woman says that she noticed her LUG paid less attention to and was ruder to women speakers. She thought it might be because the members dismissed the possibility of her knowing anything they didn’t already know. Be sure not to let this happen to your women speakers.

And the next time you go to attend a technology conference, and see that the male speakers vastly out-number the women, send an email to the conference planners, ask them what the problem is. And then you might want to shop around for a conference that doesn’t equate ‘geek’ with ‘male’.

Categories
Diversity Technology

Now what was that joke again?

More from the Women in Linux paper:

 

Don’t tell sexist jokes

Sexist jokes are the number one way to drive women out of any group, and they are more common than many people realize. I have more than once heard a man say that he doesn’t make that kind of joke, and then hours or minutes later, hear the same person make a joke about pregnant women or PMS. Sometime he just doesn’t realize that he made a sexist joke, for example, “blonde jokes” are actually “dumb women” jokes. Sometimes he tells me that it’s okay to make a sexist joke if it’s true, or it’s funny (funny to whom?). What some people fail to realize is that jokes about gender of any sort almost always make fun of women, and will make most women angry, regardless of the context. It doesn’t help to first make a sexist joke about men and then one about women.

You can argue that women shouldn’t be so sensitive (and I will disagree with you) but even then, regardless of should or should not, your comments and jokes are driving women away. If that’s not what you want, then don’t make sexist jokes. If you’re not sure if your joke is sexist, find something else to say.

Do protest sexist jokes

The next time you see someone joking about women on your local mailing list or in person, complain about it. It’s difficult to do this without making yourself a target for ridicule, but it’s even more difficult for a woman to do the same thing. Women keep silent when we see sexist jokes because if we protest, we will immediately be attacked for being over-sensitive, uptight, or a “feminazi.” (emphasis added by Bb) (Note: NEVER use the term “feminazi.” It discredits all feminists, and trivializes the victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Consider how ridiculous it sounds to call people like Rush Limbaugh “male chauvinazis” and you may understand why “feminazi” is so emotionally loaded.)

The best way to fight back against sexist jokes is with humor. If someone replies to a post about the technical achievements of a woman with “Is she single?” reply with, “Gee, Jeff, no wonder YOU’RE still single.” Every time a woman sees a sexist joke or comment, she feels angry, left out, and belittled. Every time a woman sees a man stand up against this behavior, she feels included and valued.

Déjà Vu, all over again.

Categories
Diversity Technology Web

The true secret behind the X

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Dorothea linked to a power house web site tonight: Women in Linux. You all should print this out on pretty paper, put a bow on it and give it to the Alpha Man in your life.

Seriously, though, Dorothea, I’m finding that this straight forward, honest, and out in the open approach just isn’t effective. I mean, I dabbled a bit with the book, Unix Power Tools, and I still can’t convince people that I know how to turn a computer on, much less work with Unix.

In my experience, every time a woman gets involved in Linux User Groups, or tries to work with Unix in the office, some guy’s going to come along and throw some esoteric stuff at her, making her feel inadequate. And then the dude will walk away, triumphant in the knowledge that he’s prevented women from accessing the secrets of Unix yet again.

So I came up with a plan — a way for women to learn Unix without guys knowing. I told my plan to one of the industry’s leading technologists, and we called the plan Operation X, for the fact that women have two X chromosomes, while men only have one.

Except that when the plan was released, Steve released it as OS X.

And the story goes…

I called on Steve at his home one morning and I started talking to him about the problems women have with learning Unix. I described the put-downs, the deliberate and exclusionary geek talk, the difficulty entering a room full of men and being the only woman present. I could tell Steve was sympathetic, but also distracted. When I pointed this out to him, he apologized, and I asked him what was up.

“Well, Shelley, the point is that Apple isn’t doing that great at the moment. We keep losing business market share to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and the geeks think the Mac is a frivolous operating system that’s far too pretty and friendly and helpful to be taken seriously.”

“Wow, Steve. I didn’t know things were that rough.”

“Yeah. I’m down to my last few billion.”

“Bummer.”

“Yeah. Bummer”

Then I had this epiphany! Excited, I turned to Steve and said, “Steve! I have a great idea!”

“Shelley, I’m sorry but I’ve told you before — I’m not going to incorporate RDF/XML into AppleScript.”

“No Steve, not that idea. A new one!”

“What is it?”

“Well, you say you want to attract geeks, right?”

“Right”

“But I imagine you don’t want to go with Linux or something like that cuz that’ll scare the corporate types, right?”

“You got that right. I can imagine going into Citicorp with Linux of all things.”

“Sure, sure. I know what you’re saying Steve. But what if you hid the Unix?”

Steve was puzzled. I could tell. Most people couldn’t, but I could tell.

“Come again?”

“Well, Steve, you use Unix for the base of a new operating system, but you put the old, familiar, less intimidating Mac stuff on top to hide it. With this, you can sell the OS to the corporate types — see no geeky Unix hacker shit — but still attract geeks because underneath all that puff lies a Real Operating System.”

As I was talking I could see Steve warming up to the idea. He said, “That’s a great idea! Shelley, that’s an incredible idea!”

He started pacing about, gesturing excitedly with his hands.

“We could develop new, flashier graphics — call it ‘clouds’, or ‘glitter’, or something with marketing clout like that. And we could incorporate bits of open source in with our commercial stuff and the uber-geeks would get off our butts about proprietary hardware.”

Steve rambled on for a while, fleshing the idea out. Finally, he started to wind down, and turned to me sheepishly.

“Shelley, you really saved my butt, but you came to me for help and I haven’t helped you at all.”

“But Steve you have”, I answered. “Once the new operating system hits the street women will be able to learn Unix, finally, without men knowing about it.”

“How come?”

“Here’s the scenario: a woman is working away in the Terminal, typing ‘nix command after ‘nix command, but then a guy comes up and asks what they’re doing. The woman quickly collapses the terminal, hiding what they’re doing, and shows the guy their drawing, or graphic, or letter, or whatever they’re working on. Non-threatening stuff.”

Steve’s quick, because he responded with, “Learning Unix with stealth technology. I like it!”

So we hashed it around, coming up with the name and all. Later, as he was seeing me out, I happened to notice a laptop computer by the door and asked Steve what it was.

“Oh, it’s a new computer case we’re working on. It hasn’t been painted yet because we’re trying different types of paint to see which works the best.”

“I don’t know, Steve. I kind of like the bare metal look myself.”

And there you have it. The truth behind OS X.

Really, really.

Categories
Diversity Technology

Coders-only-club strikes again

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Catching up on reading tonight, I stumbled over the following at Mark Pilgrim’s:

 

On a side note, remember that flap just before the holidays about the Coders-Only Club? Well, look at it this way: some people have strong opinions about the way computers should work. Other people have strong opinions about the way computers should work, and back them up with code. It seems obvious to me which people deserve more attention. Maybe that’s just me.

Since this was addressed to little ole me, I thought I should respond.

What can I say Mark? I don’t throw a lot of code around here abouts, primarily because I’ve been saving most of it for the book. Hard as this is to believe for some folk, especially employers in St. Louis, writing a computer book is quite difficult. Especially writing a book on a specification that’s changing, constantly, and working with technology that’s in beta — if I’m lucky.

However, as additional credentials, you all can help yourself to the resume in the upper left-hand corner and take a peek; you’ll see that I’ve thrown my mind around a line or two or 100,000 of code.

It also seems to me, though I am getting older and my brain’s been rattled a tad by the falls, as if I have thrown out code a time or two in this weblog, including a new version of RDF/RSS and other odds and ends. Seems to me that most of technical gentlemen hereabouts didn’t take all that much notice of the little woman and her bits of code. Kitchen things.

(Hey! Isn’t SOAP a kitchen thing?)

Seems to me that some people have put me into a box and are now wrapping that box with a bow and then dismissing me without due consideration, because I don’t put code into this here weblog. But you know, I really don’t like bows, and I really don’t like being clapped into a box. And I really haven’t mastered the skill of pissing standing up so I’ll forgo pissing contests if you don’t mind.

If, and when, I put code out at this site it will be because I want to, for fun, for interest, to help others — not to ‘prove’ something to anybody. And if you want to get into a debate, then you all might want to consider judging a person on the merit of their words, not the elegance of their regular expressions.