By Scholars of the Black Boys and Technology Initiative – Authors include: Genius Amaraizu, Aaron Dial, Kareem Edouard, Rayvon Fouché, Jonathan Givan, Ngozi Harrison, James Holly, Jr., Reginold Royston, and Kevin Winstead

The tech-industrial complex is the system where the tech industry doesn’t just build tools, it
builds power, concentrating wealth, shaping policy, and deciding whose skills matter and whose
lives get left behind. The disparities of power and privilege in the tech-industrial complex and how it is portrayed along racial lines.

Technology should be a gateway to opportunity, but for many Black boys, it’s a system that exploits, excludes, and criminalizes their brilliance. In this article, we explore how the tech-industrial complex rewards some while punishing others, and why community-rooted solutions are key to changing the future for Black boys in tech.

Tech’s Unequal Treatment

For example, Ross Ulbricht, who operated Silk Road, a dark web marketplace facilitating over
$200 million in illicit drug transactions and was accused of soliciting six murders, received a full
pardon. At the same time, the “Kia Boys,” Black teens who used USB cables to exploit a
software vulnerability in cars were criminalized instead of cultivated, despite displaying clear
technical acumen. While one man built a criminal empire and got a second chance, Black boys
were punished and positioned as irredeemable. This is not justice. It is a system built on
selective redemption. The hallmark of the tech-industrial complex.

The Kia Boys and the Disconnect from Tech-Industrial Complex

If we observe carefully, the Kia Boys phenomenon highlights not only a racial double standard in
evaluating technological aptitude but also a more profound disconnect between Black boys and
technology. Let’s be clear: we’re not celebrating what the Kia Boys did. But we are asking what
a real version of redemption would look like? What do community-rooted solutions look like for
Black boys trapped in the tech-industrial complex?

Historically, success in the tech industry has been associated with increased income, elevated social status, and advancements that often lead to a disconnect from one’s community. Take Jared, a Black data scientist who followed that path, got the credentials, and built a career. But now, after being laid off, he’s watching AI replace the job he trained for. That dream didn’t just vanish; it erased him without warning or repair. Jobless and isolated from his community, Jared would be considered “cooked.”

Two Different Stories, One Failing System

Jared and the Kia Boys sit on opposite ends of the tech spectrum, but their stories converge.
One was quietly discarded by innovation; the other was punished for engaging in it. Both are
symptoms of a tech-industrial complex that extracts from Black brilliance but refuses to invest in
its future. Black boys and men are not being ushered into tech; they’re being pushed out, by
design, by neglect, and by force.

Resisting the Tech-Industrial Complex through Community

For the Black boys whom whiteness decides won’t make it, there’s the prison-industrial
complex. For those whom whiteness deems acceptable, there’s the push toward the toxic
tech-industrial complex as labor. As Black scholars of technology, we have witnessed how
young Black boys interested in tech are funneled through a labor pipeline into companies that
build technological weapons of war. These same technologies surveil Black people in the US
and bomb people abroad. When the tools of innovation become tools of oppression, we need
new interventions rooted in care, not control.

A Community-Led Alternative

This is our solution: We refuse to wait for systems to fail Black boys before debating their
worthiness. Jared’s despair and the Kia Boys’ criminalization weren’t inevitable; they were the
result of disconnection, and community-led efforts are the way forward. Community is the
cure. We build the conditions for Black boys to thrive not through punishment or exceptionalism,
but through care, trust, and belonging from the start.

“When the whole community engages with tech alongside Black boys, they help root innovation in love, safety, and accountability…”

Centering Community as the Core Strategy

To achieve our goals, we must recognize that community is not a side project; it is the central
focus. Our call to action is to ask Black communities to rally together to the following
foundations:

● Connection builds community. Black boys are too often left to navigate digital spaces
alone, reinforcing the myth of the solo developer. We need civic spaces where they can
learn and play as community-minded technologists.

● Coaching builds community. Mentorship from everyday technologists, those who live
in the same neighborhoods, who understand lived experiences is crucial. We don’t need
superheroes. We need trusted adults who understand both the promise and the pitfalls
of tech.

● Conversation builds community. Caregivers must feel empowered to ask about the
technology in their children’s lives, even if they aren’t experts. These conversations don’t
require technical knowledge, just curiosity, care, and presence.

Honoring Black Mothers and Shared Responsibility

We must honor the labor Black mothers carry at the center of our households. Their care holds
entire communities together, yet it’s unjust to expect them to shoulder every burden alone.
When the whole community engages with tech alongside Black boys, they help root innovation
in love, safety, and accountability, but they shouldn’t be asked to do it all.

Transforming Extraction Into Empowerment

The real question is: How do we build structures that transform Black boys into producers,
rather than simply extracting from them? The focus should be on their innate talents and the
stories they need to tell. We must harness their love for technology, their passion for building
and design, and leverage these skills to benefit the community. Merging technology with
community means using your skills to serve, connect, and build right where you are. When
Black boys’ creativity isn’t grounded in community, it risks being co-opted by systems that only
value productivity, not humanity.

Imagine a future where local elders seek assistance from the neighborhood’s “Kia Boy” to sync Bluetooth, update firmware, or troubleshoot laptop and phone software. The very ingenuity and “USB cord“ once labeled as delinquency could become the unifying force for community revitalization. For Black boys in tech, a simple connection isn’t enough; their skills need to be deeply rooted in the communities that fostered them. Beyond just coding, their innovation is shaped by a supportive ecosystem of family, mentorship, and neighborhood programs.