Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/ Game Development, Start-ups, Technology & Entertainment Mon, 10 Jan 2011 03:34:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-30 Johanna Smith Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:16:32 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-30 Excellent article! Thank you for sharing the various experiences you have had - both positive and negative - that have shaped your framework. My experience has been similar in that most of it has been positive though with exceptions due to either lack of understanding, ignorance or perhaps plain prejudice. I grew up in Newark, NJ (possibly one of the roughest cities in the country) but had the opportunity to attend one of the best applied math and science high schools in the state. It was extremely diverse with an almost 60% black population. The administration was committed to encouraging black and hispanic students to pursue technical careers and continues to do so. During my undergrad years, unfortunately, what I observed was a completely different story. While the engineering school I attended was also committed to recruiting and admitting black and hispanic candidates and significant resources were poured into that effort, I was one of only three other hispanic female mechanical engineers in a population totaling almost 10K; the stats did not bode much better for our black classmates. Once in the professional industry, I was the only hispanic female engineer (period) working at a power plant design firm. I could not understand the disconnect given my early experience. While I could have derived some comfort or sanity from chalking it all up to lack of access and/or institutionalized racism, I knew that was not the whole story; let me be clear, it is part of the story but not entirely. I am so grateful to my husband because he is able to help me understand at a much deeper level. I was also fortunate that my mother stressed the significance of education; more importantly, she also stressed that even as a female, I could pursue a technical career and be successful (even if I did not always agree with her methodology or psychology - whole 'nuther' story). I am not sure however that this exists in majority in either of our communities. I was reminded that it was only 40 to 50 years ago that blacks were still experiencing segregation and allowed to vote for the first time. My in-laws were the first generation of blacks to have access to the educational, economic and other resources that would allow them to pave the way for their children and it still was not a 'level playing field' per se for them. This is a critical part of the discussion because it sheds light on the psychological effect that continues to play a role on why so few minorities in the technical arena or even attending college or grad school for that matter (although I see significant improvement). As a parallel, addictive or abusive behavior are cycles that are typically passed on from generation to generation before they are broken. The recovery and healing is long and requires perseverance and patience. And so it is with the psychological effects for the black community and their experience. I do not intend to minimize or trivialize the socio-economic components that also contribute to the problem. From our part, our children will understand and espouse a deep appreciation for their multicultural heritage and the significance of education and hard work. Hopefully, the future of our communities will continue to improve from generation to generation and you'll have more applicants. :) Excellent article! Thank you for sharing the various experiences you have had – both positive and negative – that have shaped your framework. My experience has been similar in that most of it has been positive though with exceptions due to either lack of understanding, ignorance or perhaps plain prejudice. I grew up in Newark, NJ (possibly one of the roughest cities in the country) but had the opportunity to attend one of the best applied math and science high schools in the state. It was extremely diverse with an almost 60% black population. The administration was committed to encouraging black and hispanic students to pursue technical careers and continues to do so. During my undergrad years, unfortunately, what I observed was a completely different story. While the engineering school I attended was also committed to recruiting and admitting black and hispanic candidates and significant resources were poured into that effort, I was one of only three other hispanic female mechanical engineers in a population totaling almost 10K; the stats did not bode much better for our black classmates. Once in the professional industry, I was the only hispanic female engineer (period) working at a power plant design firm. I could not understand the disconnect given my early experience. While I could have derived some comfort or sanity from chalking it all up to lack of access and/or institutionalized racism, I knew that was not the whole story; let me be clear, it is part of the story but not entirely. I am so grateful to my husband because he is able to help me understand at a much deeper level. I was also fortunate that my mother stressed the significance of education; more importantly, she also stressed that even as a female, I could pursue a technical career and be successful (even if I did not always agree with her methodology or psychology – whole ‘nuther’ story). I am not sure however that this exists in majority in either of our communities. I was reminded that it was only 40 to 50 years ago that blacks were still experiencing segregation and allowed to vote for the first time. My in-laws were the first generation of blacks to have access to the educational, economic and other resources that would allow them to pave the way for their children and it still was not a ‘level playing field’ per se for them. This is a critical part of the discussion because it sheds light on the psychological effect that continues to play a role on why so few minorities in the technical arena or even attending college or grad school for that matter (although I see significant improvement). As a parallel, addictive or abusive behavior are cycles that are typically passed on from generation to generation before they are broken. The recovery and healing is long and requires perseverance and patience. And so it is with the psychological effects for the black community and their experience. I do not intend to minimize or trivialize the socio-economic components that also contribute to the problem. From our part, our children will understand and espouse a deep appreciation for their multicultural heritage and the significance of education and hard work. Hopefully, the future of our communities will continue to improve from generation to generation and you’ll have more applicants. :)

]]> Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-29 Jason Hanifan Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:44:47 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-29 I truly enjoyed this blog and the subsequent responses. I will have to say from my experience, that I never really saw you as black but as "Tony" when we were growing up. I am about to dig something up that I have told very few people to this day. One day in the 2nd grade, we were playing on the playground. This little boy came up to me and pointed at a little girl and said, "She's a ." In my young mind, I asked him... "what is that?" I didn't know what it meant. He responded, "that's just what she is." "Go tell her that," he told me. I did. She started crying. I started crying. I hurt her feelings. She told the teacher and the teacher came to me and asked my what I said with tears rolling down my eyes. She told me that was a very mean word and that I should never use it. I absolutely hate that word. It makes me cringe. I became friends with that little girl throughout elementary school. We just reconnected on facebook. The point of my story is... I never saw her as anything different from me until someones bigotry tainted me. I never saw you as anything different from me. That's why I feel that blacks should not feel any different from anyone else. Yes, sometimes they are stuck with poor socio-economic conditions. That's why I believe charter schools with vouchers are a good idea. I don't like affirmative action because its legislated racism. Why judge on a person's color? Why not judge on their merits? While in boot camp in the Marine Corps, I saw another form of racism. We had 2 recruits that were from very diverse backgrounds. One was from inner-city Chicago (gang banger) and a another guy from Arkansas (dad was a Grand Dragon in the KKK). He made sure that everyone knew his dad was a Grand Dragon... not very smart when your drill instructors are HUGE 6'2" black guys. They (DI's) never said anything about it. The gang banger hated white guys as well. The drill instructors did something very smart... bunked them together. They had to do everything together. Yeah some fights at the beginning... but on graduation day... they were the best of friends. The "grand dragon" father was there at graduation day... You should of seen his eyes when those guys came walking up with their arms over each other shoulders. We are not white. We are not black, yellow, red, blue... We are Americans. Until everyone can figure that out we will always be a step behind. While I do not agree with his politics, President Obama has proven to everyone who is a naysayer... You can do anything that you put your mind and willpower to... Do not succumb to historical stereotypes... You are the master of your own destiny. Spread the word Anthony... there are very many talented Americans from diverse backgrounds that don't know you can do what YOU do. Oh what "nationality" are you? :P I truly enjoyed this blog and the subsequent responses. I will have to say from my experience, that I never really saw you as black but as “Tony” when we were growing up. I am about to dig something up that I have told very few people to this day. One day in the 2nd grade, we were playing on the playground. This little boy came up to me and pointed at a little girl and said, “She’s a .” In my young mind, I asked him… “what is that?” I didn’t know what it meant. He responded, “that’s just what she is.” “Go tell her that,” he told me. I did. She started crying. I started crying. I hurt her feelings. She told the teacher and the teacher came to me and asked my what I said with tears rolling down my eyes. She told me that was a very mean word and that I should never use it.

I absolutely hate that word. It makes me cringe. I became friends with that little girl throughout elementary school. We just reconnected on facebook.

The point of my story is… I never saw her as anything different from me until someones bigotry tainted me. I never saw you as anything different from me. That’s why I feel that blacks should not feel any different from anyone else. Yes, sometimes they are stuck with poor socio-economic conditions. That’s why I believe charter schools with vouchers are a good idea. I don’t like affirmative action because its legislated racism. Why judge on a person’s color? Why not judge on their merits?

While in boot camp in the Marine Corps, I saw another form of racism. We had 2 recruits that were from very diverse backgrounds. One was from inner-city Chicago (gang banger) and a another guy from Arkansas (dad was a Grand Dragon in the KKK). He made sure that everyone knew his dad was a Grand Dragon… not very smart when your drill instructors are HUGE 6’2″ black guys. They (DI’s) never said anything about it. The gang banger hated white guys as well. The drill instructors did something very smart… bunked them together. They had to do everything together. Yeah some fights at the beginning… but on graduation day… they were the best of friends. The “grand dragon” father was there at graduation day… You should of seen his eyes when those guys came walking up with their arms over each other shoulders.

We are not white. We are not black, yellow, red, blue… We are Americans. Until everyone can figure that out we will always be a step behind. While I do not agree with his politics, President Obama has proven to everyone who is a naysayer… You can do anything that you put your mind and willpower to… Do not succumb to historical stereotypes… You are the master of your own destiny. Spread the word Anthony… there are very many talented Americans from diverse backgrounds that don’t know you can do what YOU do. Oh what “nationality” are you? :P

]]> Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-27 Laura Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:37:58 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-27 First let me say how proud I am of you for writing this. You can write, my son! LOL Second, it's a touchy subject for everyone that needs to be touched and poked and prodded into the light. Only by conversation can people find common ground. After everyone states their present opinions, the conversations should move on to how to change or improve, if necessary, those opinions. A lot of what we all say is a knee-jerk reactions, comforting no-thought required points of ivew. When you get past that, I've found people often have more insightful things to express. Let the conversations commence! #3 You are, on my side of the family: African, native American (both Baltimore area and Louisiana from two different sides of the family), Irish, English, and French-Spanish(Creole). We've got documentation for those. After that??? First let me say how proud I am of you for writing this. You can write, my son! LOL

Second, it’s a touchy subject for everyone that needs to be touched and poked and prodded into the light. Only by conversation can people find common ground. After everyone states their present opinions, the conversations should move on to how to change or improve, if necessary, those opinions. A lot of what we all say is a knee-jerk reactions, comforting no-thought required points of ivew. When you get past that, I’ve found people often have more insightful things to express. Let the conversations commence!

#3 You are, on my side of the family: African, native American (both Baltimore area and Louisiana from two different sides of the family), Irish, English, and French-Spanish(Creole). We’ve got documentation for those. After that???

]]> Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-26 Laura Writes » Heatwave Interactive…So, do your kids write? Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:44:53 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-26 [...] BET Outs Heatwave: There are black people in the game industry. [...] [...] BET Outs Heatwave: There are black people in the game industry. [...]

]]> Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-25 John Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:19:44 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-25 Wow, I can't believe you were so thin! Chaka huh? Mine was Fu Manchu. Got to love kids! Wow, I can’t believe you were so thin!

Chaka huh? Mine was Fu Manchu. Got to love kids!

]]> Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-24 Anthony Castoro Sun, 01 Mar 2009 18:44:43 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-24 Hey Jonathan, I can appreciate your hesitation in entering into the conversation, but I think it's great that you did. Part of dealing with any difficult situation is being willing to engage, and for both parties to look past unintended slights. You never know whether someone prefers the word "black" or "african-american." African-american is problematic for me because Africa is a huge place with many different cultures and societies. It's not like some people refer to themselves as European-American, right? For me, I'm satisfied with American (or Texan), but if you want to talk about the context in which people perceive race, I prefer black over African-American. I know some people don't share that view. To be precise, I suppose I'm Afro(unknown-origin)-Italian-Creole-Sicilian-Native American(unknown-origin)-Greecian-Albanian-Texan-American. I'm sure there's more but that's all my family has dug up at this point. Perhaps I should just settle for American. Hey Jonathan, I can appreciate your hesitation in entering into the conversation, but I think it’s great that you did. Part of dealing with any difficult situation is being willing to engage, and for both parties to look past unintended slights. You never know whether someone prefers the word “black” or “african-american.” African-american is problematic for me because Africa is a huge place with many different cultures and societies. It’s not like some people refer to themselves as European-American, right?

For me, I’m satisfied with American (or Texan), but if you want to talk about the context in which people perceive race, I prefer black over African-American. I know some people don’t share that view. To be precise, I suppose I’m Afro(unknown-origin)-Italian-Creole-Sicilian-Native American(unknown-origin)-Greecian-Albanian-Texan-American. I’m sure there’s more but that’s all my family has dug up at this point. Perhaps I should just settle for American.

]]> Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-23 Jonathan Trimble Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:33:02 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-23 Hello there Anthony, I want to say what a wonderful job you did in writing this blog of yours. I really enjoyed reading your article and I too have noticed not very many black people in the gaming industry and quite frankly I never knew with 100% certainy that you were black either Anthony. But at the same time, let me point out something else if I may while it may not be directly related to the gaming industry, I did find it different and a change from what I was used to encountering and that was when a cousin of mine introduced me to a friend of his who was black who made a living professionally designing websites. Prior to this, I had never met a black person who did this for a living or worked in something technology related. I will say however, that I think this trend of more black entering into the field of technology is beginning to increase. Anyhow, at the same time, I guess when I talk about something like this I feel a bit odd because with me being white and the other person being black, I feel like I am walking on egg shells while trying to not offend the other person. For example, when discussing such issues as this, the things someone like myself has to take into consideration is : 1. Will the other person be offended or not? 2. Does he take offense to a white person calling him black or would he much be referred to as being an African American? 3. Will the other person think you think less of them by citing that you were surprised to see a black person working in the technological field? Anyhow, I know what you mean and I have noticed that there are hardly any black people in the technological field. I sometimes even have questioned is there even black people out there who play games or do they all play sports only? Anyhow, for a white gaming fanatic it would be cool to see more black people who played video games and online games such as myself because then I would be able to connect with them in some form or fashion. I would not be able to really connect if all they knew about was sports if you know what I mean. Hello there Anthony, I want to say what a wonderful job you did in writing this blog of yours. I really enjoyed reading your article and I too have noticed not very many black people in the gaming industry and quite frankly I never knew with 100% certainy that you were black either Anthony.

But at the same time, let me point out something else if I may while it may not be directly related to the gaming industry, I did find it different and a change from what I was used to encountering and that was when a cousin of mine introduced me to a friend of his who was black who made a living professionally designing websites.

Prior to this, I had never met a black person who did this for a living or worked in something technology related. I will say however, that I think this trend of more black entering into the field of technology is beginning to increase.

Anyhow, at the same time, I guess when I talk about something like this I feel a bit odd because with me being white and the other person being black, I feel like I am walking on egg shells while trying to not offend the other person.

For example, when discussing such issues as this, the things someone like myself has to take into consideration is :

1. Will the other person be offended or not?
2. Does he take offense to a white person calling him black or would he much be referred to as being an African American?
3. Will the other person think you think less of them by citing that you were surprised to see a black person working in the technological field?

Anyhow, I know what you mean and I have noticed that there are hardly any black people in the technological field. I sometimes even have questioned is there even black people out there who play games or do they all play sports only?

Anyhow, for a white gaming fanatic it would be cool to see more black people who played video games and online games such as myself because then I would be able to connect with them in some form or fashion.

I would not be able to really connect if all they knew about was sports if you know what I mean.

]]> Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-22 Anthony Castoro Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:49:49 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-22 Nora, you're correct, and certainly in general this is the case, it's just that I would have suspected that, as with athletics and the arts, since video games are such a popular part of black culture, you'd find more representation there (moreso than in tech in general). That's clearly not the case. I'm certain a lot of it has to do with familial history, economic opportunity and attitude. My mom's side of the family is full of successful people, doctors, dentists, etc, so race didn't seem to hold them back, but perhaps I'm benefiting from the exception to the rule. So, I hope that I can represent to all people that whatever you see someone doing, you could be doing it too. Regardless of your politics, that's what makes Obama's rise to the Presidency so remarkable. Y'know, when I was in high school, and even college, I didn't know you could even make a living making video games! I didn't know there was any kind of career path. Maybe people don't realize what a huge industry it has become, and what a great experience it can be, creatively, professionally and culturally. Nora, you’re correct, and certainly in general this is the case, it’s just that I would have suspected that, as with athletics and the arts, since video games are such a popular part of black culture, you’d find more representation there (moreso than in tech in general). That’s clearly not the case. I’m certain a lot of it has to do with familial history, economic opportunity and attitude. My mom’s side of the family is full of successful people, doctors, dentists, etc, so race didn’t seem to hold them back, but perhaps I’m benefiting from the exception to the rule.

So, I hope that I can represent to all people that whatever you see someone doing, you could be doing it too. Regardless of your politics, that’s what makes Obama’s rise to the Presidency so remarkable. Y’know, when I was in high school, and even college, I didn’t know you could even make a living making video games! I didn’t know there was any kind of career path. Maybe people don’t realize what a huge industry it has become, and what a great experience it can be, creatively, professionally and culturally.

]]> Don’t Wait! ORDER The CHEAPEST MEDICATIONS NOW » Buy Xenical Without Prescription http://www.anthonycastoro.com/2009/02/28/bet-outs-heatwave-there-are-black-people-in-the-game-industry/comment-page-1/#comment-21 Nora Robin Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:39:02 +0000 http://www.anthonycastoro.com/?p=75#comment-21 Anthony, in my 10-15 y work experience, I've only worked with 3 developers (2 in Austin) plus 1 IT person of African descent. Since there are a much higher percentage of people with Afro-Carib descent here in Canada, it's surprising that there are so few in the field. Poverty and discrimination is to blame for the underrepresentation of blacks in the tech world and in other fields. Poverty and discrimination determine the outlook of children , their plans for the future, their pastimes, their attitudes/hopes/dreams. If a child hasn't been told that he can do something, the odds are that he won't try to do it. When a child grows up in a family that has never met financial success, he is not likely to be able to envision it or make the first step towards attaining it. Here's something I found on the net : http://www.results.org/website/article.asp?id=350 " Census Bureau findings show that among the racial and ethnic groups, black households had the lowest median income in 2007 ($33,916), compared to the median of $54,920 for non-Hispanic white households. The same survey shows that 24.5 percent of blacks were living in poverty compared to 8.2 percent of non-Hispanic whites. " Here's another about discrimination : http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S11/23/70K64/index.xml?section=newsreleases And another about incarceration rates. http://www.blackcommentator.com/98/98_prisons_1.html " Blacks have consistently been found in jail at a rate of at least five times greater than whites during the past couple of decades. In 2002, the jail incarceration rate for blacks was 740 per 100,000 persons, compared to only 147 for whites and 256 for Latinos. " I think that with all those challenges, it's not surprising that there are so few blacks in the tech world. The tech industry might not be discriminating but I don't thing that many blacks are getting trained in the field, either independently or at college. I am really glad to see you leading the way! Anthony, in my 10-15 y work experience, I’ve only worked with 3 developers (2 in Austin) plus 1 IT person of African descent. Since there are a much higher percentage of people with Afro-Carib descent here in Canada, it’s surprising that there are so few in the field.

Poverty and discrimination is to blame for the underrepresentation of blacks in the tech world and in other fields. Poverty and discrimination determine the outlook of children , their plans for the future, their pastimes, their attitudes/hopes/dreams.

If a child hasn’t been told that he can do something, the odds are that he won’t try to do it. When a child grows up in a family that has never met financial success, he is not likely to be able to envision it or make the first step towards attaining it.

Here’s something I found on the net : http://www.results.org/website/article.asp?id=350

”
Census Bureau findings show that among the racial and ethnic groups, black households had the lowest median income in 2007 ($33,916), compared to the median of $54,920 for non-Hispanic white households. The same survey shows that 24.5 percent of blacks were living in poverty compared to 8.2 percent of non-Hispanic whites. ”

Here’s another about discrimination :
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S11/23/70K64/index.xml?section=newsreleases

And another about incarceration rates. http://www.blackcommentator.com/98/98_prisons_1.html
”
Blacks have consistently been found in jail at a rate of at least five times greater than whites during the past couple of decades. In 2002, the jail incarceration rate for blacks was 740 per 100,000 persons, compared to only 147 for whites and 256 for Latinos.
”

I think that with all those challenges, it’s not surprising that there are so few blacks in the tech world.

The tech industry might not be discriminating but I don’t thing that many blacks are getting trained in the field, either independently or at college.

I am really glad to see you leading the way!

]]>