Pharrell Williams seen at the world premiere of “The Black Godfather,” in Los Angeles on June 3, 2019. (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File)
By AFRO Staff
Music maven Pharrell Williams has teamed up with Amazon and the Georgia Institute of Technology in an educational collaboration that promotes discussions on racial justice, STEM education and entrepreneurship.
“Your Voic is Power” will encourage middle and high school students to engage in classroom discussions around equity while learning about computer coding. The program ends in a competition in which students use Georgia Tech’s EarSketch platform to code a 30 second – 3 minute remix of Pharrell’s latest song “Entrepreneur,” which features Jay-Z. The submissions will be judged by by a panel of industry professionals for quality of music, code, and messaging.
The program, Pharrell said, is an ideal representation of what he hopes to achieve through his education equity non-profit, YELLOW.
“This collaboration between YELLOW, Amazon, and Georgia Tech is a celebration of Black creators and change-makers,” said Pharrell in a statement. “YELLOW at its core believes that education is a pathway to success. Teaching kids future-ready skills like coding, especially those kids for whom opportunities like this have not been equally distributed, is how we prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
According to the the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), from 2014 to 2024, the market for computer science professionals will grow twice as fast as the rest of the labor market. But African Americans are underrepresented in the field. The National Science Board (NSB) estimates that the number of Black professionals in science and engineering must more than double to be representative of Black people in the U.S. population in 2030.
“We’re honored to join Amazon Future Engineer, and together build further awareness and enlist more artists to join this program that will break down barriers for students from underrepresented communities,” said Ryan Redington, vice president of music industry at Amazon Music. “The more we support the next generation of artists and creators, the better the future of music will be. We are proud to work alongside Pharrell, a respected, visionary voice in promoting racial justice and helping students achieve long-term success.”
“Your Voice Is Power” is hoping to attract upwards of 100,000 middle- and high-school students from across the U.S. and Canada. Five students will win a $5,000 scholarship or grant to start a business, and five teachers will receive $1,000 for above and beyond instruction.