News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Ask HN: How many YC companies have African American foun... by ricardobeat on Thursday December 26, 2013 @02:58PM (#6967733)
The theory is that people perform worse when a negative stereotype they identify with is presented to them. Saying "oh, but unfortunately there are no successful black entrepreneurs" in an entrepreneurship class to black kids seems to be exactly that.
Re:Ask HN: How many YC companies have African American foun... by jacalata on Thursday December 26, 2013 @03:21PM (#6967856)
...thats why the op is asking for examples of actual black entrepreneurs, so that what will actually happen is, when presenting a list of entrepreneurs as examples, at least some of them are black, and the kids are not explicitly or implicitly told that there are no black entrepreneurs. You seem to be arguing that presenting a list of white examples would not prompt stereotypes in itself, and I think you really need to show that instead of simply assume it.
Re:Ask HN: How many YC companies have African American foun... by ricardobeat on Thursday December 26, 2013 @03:29PM (#6967887)
Yeah, that makes sense. I was thinking along 'companies started by african-americans' as the presentation context, which carries the subtext of blacks as the exception.