Emile Cambry is a social entrepreneur whose technology center, Chicago’s Blue 1647, teaches people living in underserved communities how to code, make apps and solve technical problems. Cambry’s been inspired by Afrofuturism and what it can do for the next generation of young entrepreneurs. In part 4 of The Root’s series on Afrofuturism, Cambry talks about the importance of diverse voices in his space.
“Ultimately, diversity is a really powerful tool of getting us an opportunity to learn from each other, and the more experiences, the more people that are a part of that conversation, part of creating, part of building, and really telling their stories, it really just broadens that space.”
Cambry also sees Afrofuturism as a vehicle for change.
“It’s also this kind of activist standpoint that we’re really layering on top of it to say, ‘Hey, how do you make communities better? How do you make people better? What does the future hold that allows things to be sustainable, communities to be sustainable and thriving?’ And that’s exciting.”
Watch:
You can also catch parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Afrofuturism series.
The Afrofuturism series is produced by Jordi Oliveres, Cale Bonderman, Gerry Martinez and Cesar Alpuche.
Jordi Oliveres is a musician-turned-journalist-turned-video producer. Originally from Mexico City, Oliveres now lives in New York City, where he works as senior director of music at Univision.