The answer to "why does this need to involve race?" and many similar questions can be found on the about page [0]. It does a very good job of succinctly describing why we need campaigns and organizations like this to break down the racial, gender, and cultural barriers that prevent so many people from feeling comfortable or accepted in STEM careers or academic settings.
> But I also recall, as I pursued my studies, feeling culturally isolated: few of my classmates looked like me.
This statement feels a bit yucky to me. Like the whole premise of this movement is that diversity is valuable, but then there's this feeling of discontent about a lot of people not looking like you. It kind of reeks of hypocrisy, if I'm being honest. Even if black women were represented in programming in a way that reflects America's demographics, "few of my classmates looked like me" would still be true.
> Much has changed since my college days, but there’s still a dearth of African-American women in science, technology, engineering and math professions
In agreement so far...
> an absence that cannot be explained by, say, a lack of interest in these fields.
This is where it falls apart for me. This is an assertion without evidence. I haven't yet heard a convincing argument (or really any argument) that people of different cultural, racial, gender backgrounds will gravitate towards similar professions, on average.
To me, the better question (and harder to address) is "_why_ do you feel so utterly disconnected from white and Asian men on a person-to-person level that you would be pushed out of a dream job?" We're all human beings, and there is plenty of common ground to be found in that. The long-term goal should not be to have your Netflixes, Amazons, and Googles of the world full of black, Asian, latino, and white men and women all sitting at their own lunch tables. Unfortunately, it feels a lot like that's where it's going to me.
> Much has changed since my college days, but there’s still a dearth of African-American women in science, technology, engineering and math professions, an absence that cannot be explained by, say, a lack of interest in these fields.
XD yeah, because racism is always the answer. Also there is no enough black people hiking because forests in US are racist as fuck.
[0]: https://www.blackgirlscode.com/about-bgc.html