Black Girls Code turns down $125K donation from Uber
Uber is doing what it can to pull out of a PR tailspin in connection to multiple reports of discrimination, sexual harassment and other major offenses. One way it’s doing so is by donating to a variety of diverse organizations such as Girls Who Code and hiring Eric Holder to keep the ship in line.
However, not everyone is down for letting Uber use them for a good headline.
Black Girls Code, which is an organization that works to inspire Black girls’ interest in the tech industry, is one of them. The organizations founder, Kimberly Bryant, turned down a $125,000 donation from the ride sharing company.
“My decision is layered,” Bryant told TechCrunch. “I’ve been quite open for some time about the fact that we as an org use Uber as a tool. We’re also headquartered in the city [Oakland] where they have planned to move. So I’ve been open to the notion that they can transform themselves. Yet their past history and ‘political’ nature of maneuvering is and was troubling.”
She added that it’s concerning how the company hasn’t done much for residents in nearby Oakland and said it “seems a bit tone-deaf to really addressing real change in how they are moving towards both inclusion and equity. It appears to be more PR driven than actually focused on real change. So we turned it down.”
Photo via Flickr