National Cyber Director Harry Coker Jr. and team visit Historic Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma

TULSA, Okla. and WASHINGTON, June 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 20, The White House Office of the National Cyber Director, led by White House National Cyber Director Harry Coker Jr., visited Historic Greenwood as part of their National Cyber Workforce and Development initiative tour.

Hosted by Black Tech Street, a local organization dedicated to rebirthing historic Black Wall Street as an innovation economy rooted in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, National Cyber Director Coker Jr. visited The University of Tulsa where he spoke with UTulsa leadership, staff and students about their experiences.

He then traveled to Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, where he spoke at a public event alongside Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, Tulsa Innovation Labs Director of Grants and Policy Justin Kitts, and Founder and Executive Director of Black Tech Street Tyrance Billingsley II, followed by a roundtable of Tulsa leaders and officials. White House National Cyber Director Harry Coker Jr had this to say:

"I am aware that today I stand on sacred ground, addressing you within the historic Greenwood District here in Tulsa. Today, I'll have the opportunity to visit the site of Black Wall Street, a space where African Americans – for many generations following the Civil War – thrived," said Director Coker. "More than 100 years after their work began to create not only a self-sustaining business district, but economic opportunity and generational wealth, we stand here on their shoulders. And we are here again, looking to innovation. And to hope. Their fearless example is what we remember and what we allow to inspire us today."

Tyrance Billingsley II, Founder and Executive Director of host organization Black Tech Street had this to say regarding the visit:

"It was a tremendous honor for Black Tech Street to host Director Coker Jr. and ONCD in Historic Greenwood. The crux of our work here is pioneering a new narrative and mechanism for how to over-index Black and minority talent into critical technology areas like cyber and AI, not only for economic stability but to secure technological leadership of the United States for the next half a century.

Greenwood stands as a special example not only in Black history, but in American history of what is possible when typically marginalized populations are intentionally mobilized. 21st century Black Wall Street has an opportunity to lead the way again on pioneering a new strategy for mass mobilizing marginalized communities into industries of the future."

A critical part of this vision is The University of Tulsa, one of the top cyber institutions in the country. Chad Raduege, executive director of UTulsa's Oklahoma Cyber Innovation Institute and retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general, shared his thoughts: "As the institute and its community partners strive to meet the global demand for cyber talent and technology, we are excited to welcome Director Coker to Tulsa and the university. Our goal is to develop a highly educated workforce trained in cutting-edge technology and ready to tackle real-world cyber challenges."

UTulsa President Brad R. Carson echoed Raduege's sentiment: "The University of Tulsa has been a nationally recognized leader in cyber education and research for 25 years. We attract top-tier professors and support critical research projects in collaboration with federal agencies, Fortune 500 corporations, global nonprofits and private entrepreneurs. And we are eager to share more about these relationships and opportunities with the White House."

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum also shared the importance cybersecurity and advanced technologies have within the city of Tulsa showcasing the unique role Tulsa has in this industry.

"Over the past seven years as mayor, I have placed a primary focus on how we govern and manage information technology at the City of Tulsa and the sheer dedication it takes in building cybersecurity capacity," Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum said. "The groundwork to advance cyber security is in place through our higher-education institutions and organizations like Black Tech Street, and the City of Tulsa stands committed in supporting and investing resources to stand as a leader in this space."

With new advancements in Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing and Autonomous Systems all being heavily intertwined with Cybersecurity, Black Tech Street and broader Tulsa hope that Director Cokers visit alongside the work they are currently hoping will be enhanced by their recent denotation as a Tech Hub by the Economic Development Administration will serve as a nationwide example and call to action for America to embrace these new technologies hand future generations a secure and prosperous future.

About Black Tech Street

Black Tech Street is an organization dedicated to rebirthing Historic Black Wall Street as a world class innovation economy rooted in cybersecurity, business intelligence and responsible artificial intelligence. Its goal is to make 21st century Greenwood the blueprint for catalyzing holistic emerging technology transformations in Black and marginalized communities across the country and ensure that America wins the "Emerging Technologies Race".

Contact
Tyrance Billingsley II
Founder and Executive Director
Black Tech Street
918-899-8290
[email protected]

SOURCE Black Tech Street