Discover the inspiring story behind a new tech program in Kansas City, created by a Black woman, that is empowering Black children and expanding opportunities for them in the tech industry.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There’s a new tech program on the rise, created by a Black woman right here in Kansas City.
It’s helping to broaden the horizon for Black children across the Kansas City area and eventually around the world.
Coding is the future. It’s everywhere. That’s why CodeAlgo Academy is teaching programming language through gaming. The goal is to prepare more kids for a successful career in engineering.
“If you have a phone, it’s probably coding in it,” CodeAlgo co-owner Triumfia Houmbie Fulks said.
Because of that, hundreds of Kansas City kids are entering the world of coding through CodeAlgo.
\“The mission is to bridge the African-American gap in software engineering, in the hope of equipping them with skills that will allow them to get internships and a potential six-figure salary by the time they graduate from high school,” Fulks said.
In 2022, Fulks and co-founder Sedric Hibler launched the academy. It’s an educational platform that teaches children ages 9-14 complex coding through gaming.
“There’s this tool called Roblox. Kids are all over Roblox. They love Roblox. It’s a very similar concept,” Fulks said.
Fulks is a software engineer who taught herself how to code. She was able to land a job at a Fortune 500 company.
“I realize not only was I the only Black person, but I was the only female,” she said. “And it continued to stay like that multiple years.”
She said kids in urban communities aren’t being exposed to these types of job skills and programs at an early age.
“Right now there are only 5% of African American software engineers in the entire U.S.,” Fulks said.
The lack of exposure was the start of her brainchild to give kids the tools needed to land a career in a lucrative field.
“It is extremely important that they see people who look like us building stuff, so we can give them that motivation, and they can feel inspired to one, to explore that field; two, remove that narrative that’s it’s too hard, it’s too complex, it’s just for the nerd, it’s just for the smart people,” Fulks said.
“It’s just not true. Anyone can do it. You just need to learn that skill.”
Fulks said through local partnerships, the program has already reached more than 1,000 kids so far — and that number is growing.
