| The Black Digital Elite: African American Leaders of the Information Revolution | 
enlarge | Author: John T. Barber Publisher: Praeger Publishers Category: Book
List Price: $39.95 Buy New: $15.94 You Save: $24.01 (60%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:   (1 reviews) Sales Rank: 1282122
Media: Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 216 Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7 Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.3 x 1
ISBN: 0275985040 Dewey Decimal Number: 305.523092396073 EAN: 9780275985042 ASIN: 0275985040
Publication Date: September 30, 2006 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description Most discussions of the digital divide focus on the gap between African Americans and others when it comes to using, and benefiting from, the technological and business opportunities of the information age. Although many African Americans are locked out of the information revolution, others are an integral part of its development and progress. Barber profiles 26 of them here, engagingly and informatively blending biography with insight and analysis. Documenting history as it is being made, this book features achievers in all fields of relevant endeavor, including scientists, business leaders, power brokers, and community leaders. Among them are Robert Johnson, CEO of Black Entertainment Television; Richard Parsons, CEO of AOL Time-Warner; congressmen and other policymakers in Washington, D.C.; and men and women who are working to bridge the digital divide in satellite radio, web-based portals, and on the ground with IT workshops. This book is not just about business success or technological progress. The African American "digerati" are solving one of the great social challenges of the 21st century: creating a black community that is prosperous in a society that has changed from being a land-based industrial society to a cyberspace-based information society.
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| Customer Reviews:
  Learn about Black Visionaries July 17, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
John T. Barber profiles "26 outstanding African American cyberelites." Black Digital Elite is divided into six parts, each of which addresses a different aspect of what he calls the Information Revolution.
Part I: Scientists and Innovator, introduces four visionaries whose work with computers revolutionized the way we use computers and the internet. Part II: Policy Makers and Power Brokers presents eight forward thinkers who developed plans, policies and programs that made access to new technologies in computing and communication easier for African Americans. Part III: Educators and Professionals features three people in academia who have taught and encouraged African American students to pursue degrees and careers in high tech industries. Part IV: Cybercommunity Developers discusses three Information Technology (IT) professionals who have focused on digital access and computer literacy in the African American community. Part V: Masters of the World Wide Web examines four masters of the internet who have created web sites and web portals geared towards African Americans. Part VI: Chief Executive Officers, Entrepreneurs and Big Money Makers, profiles four leaders in Corporate America who are using their money and businesses to introduce and/or upgrade communication and computer technologies in the African American community and under-served communities around the world.
This was a very informative read. I was unaware of the number of prominent African Americans who have been on the leading edge of the Information Revolution, inventors, educators, politicians, and business leaders who have worked tirelessly to bridge the digital gap that exists between the African American community and the rest of the world. As an IT professional, I am thrilled to learn of the accomplishments of my elders and contemporaries in the high tech arena. I encourage young people to use this book as both a reference book for writing about innovative elders and as a career planning manual.
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