Fourteen-year old Ahmed Mohamed’s arrest and suspension for bringing a homemade clock to his Dallas high school, which school officials mistook for a bomb, has united all corners of the global internet community. But while he is now the world’s most popular teen, there are many others just like him who aren’t getting wooed by powerful tech companies.
Could tech companies change their “brogrammer” culture if they take the same no-questions-asked embrace bestowed on Ahmed in the aftermath of his arrest and apply it to other rising innovators?
President Barack Obama led an onslaught of social media love and support for Ahmed Wednesday, with a message — and personal White House invitation — that simultaneously condemned officials for their knee-jerk assumptions and uplifted the young clockmaker by encouraging him to brave the prejudice-fueled storm.
Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House? We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It's what makes America great.
— President Obama (@POTUS44) September 16, 2015
He’s also gotten a warm welcome from Silicon Valley, including several offers for meet-and-greets and internships from the world’s leading tech companies, such as Reddit, Google and Twitter.
How do I get in touch with Ahmed? We (@reddit) wanna intro him to some of our friends in science (+ internship?) http://t.co/Bwgnbz179O
— Alexis Ohanian 🗽 (@alexisohanian) September 16, 2015
Hey Ahmed- we're saving a seat for you at this weekend's Google Science Fair…want to come? Bring your clock! #IStandwithAhmed
— Google Science Fair (@googlescifair) September 16, 2015
Hi @IStandWithAhmed, we 💙 building things at @twitter too. Would you consider interning with us? We'd love it — DM us! #IStandWithAhmed
— Twitter (@Twitter) September 16, 2015
Ahmed’s story resonates with many who weren’t mainstream “cool” growing up — those who preferred to spend time taking things apart and rebuilding them, watch old movies with the A/V club, or play video games. His story also embodies the social urgency called to correct the racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural discrimination behind police profiling and the deep-seated perceptions that too often lead to the brutalization of marginalized communities.
But those biases aren’t limited to police encounters, trickling into everyday life and workplaces — an issue the tech industry is working to improve. That’s why, beyond the many lessons Ahmed can teach society about the gross dangers of prejudice, his story also provides a powerful anecdote in acceptance and the importance of diversity in tech.
The white male-dominated U.S. tech scene has been criticized for fostering gender discrimination and harassment, and hostile work environments that often exclude women and people of color. In recent years, the industry has been more transparent about its lack of diversity, spearheading initiatives to change recruiting habits and investing in education programs aimed at encouraging more people of color to get involved in computer science.
Those are crucial parts of changing demographics, but they could go even further with unbridled support tech leaders have shown Ahmed.
“What I’m saying is, like, scholarships and jobs can come from this, if you sit down and talk to the right people who have influence, that would be the best call,” Ahmed said to his father justifying multiple television appearances during a car ride, the Daily Beast reported. “Twitter says they’d like to intern me! Twitter would like to intern me! One hour ago, they said it.”