I was raised in a small predominantly black town. The same town my mom grew up in. Because the school board wanted to force integration, they moved the district lines. This meant that instead of going to the elementary school my mom had gone to, I went to a school that had previously been all white. That experience shook my foundation. I had been a confident child but became very insecure. My skin color, hair and clothing were mocked. They even mocked my name. I despised myself and the only confidence that remained lay in my creativity. Though I eventually became ashamed of my art as well, I couldn’t stop making it, not completely. It was and is as vital to me as air and water. My art gradually became an outlet for all I bottled up. However rather than hatred coming out, love came out. When I draw, when I paint, when I create I’m showing how much I love. I found I was capable of holding an infinite amount of love and I wanted to share it. I wanted to show that little girl I was all the lovely things and show anyone that felt they didn’t belong, the wonder of their being. Through my art I learned to love myself and I hope that I can help others learn to love themselves too.
Code the Dream offers free intensive training in software development to people from diverse low-income backgrounds though our free code school, CTD Learns. In our nonprofit dev shop, CTD Labs, our coders work with experienced mentors to hone their skills by building apps and technology platforms for a range of clients. The goal is to create a unique win-win, where our coders gain real experience building apps that make the world a better place, and then use that experience to launch new careers with life-changing opportunities for themselves, their families, and their communities.
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