If you can SEE it, you can BE it. Representation is KEY in FIRST.
I have written multiple times about how amazing of an organization FIRST is, and how I have seen first hand how it can impact the entire trajectory of a child's life. Last year, I was invited to become a member of of a FIRST Robotics Competition Black Mentor Advisory Group. It is one of the only, if not the only organization of its kind in the United States. It is no secret that there is a distinct lack of Black representation in STEM and other professional areas. There are a couple of hundred FRC Mentors in North Carolina alone, and I would say about 10% of them are Black. We had a virtual meeting recently and the council head, who is White, and one of the staunchest allies I have ever met in my life, told us a story about a colleague who ran a robotics event at a school in North Carolina. There was a young Black girl in the group and when asked if she wanted to participate, she said "she couldn't." And when the program lead, who is White said that she could do anyth