WASHINGTON, D.C. — Howard University’s Center for Digital Business will return for a third consecutive year to AfroTech from Nov. 2-6 in Houston to deliver an expanded The Yard @ AfroTech experience for the conference’s 10th anniversary. Designed to celebrate the legacy and future of Black innovation, The Yard @ AfroTech will bring together the broader HBCU community and industry leaders through mentorship, networking, and professional development. This year, The Walt Disney Company has joined as a corporate partner to help bring the activation vision to life, featuring a larger physical footprint as well as a fuller slate of new and original programming. Through its multi-year partnership with AfroTech, Howard is creating access for 100 HBCU students to attend the conference, connecting students from Howard and other HBCUs, including the University of the District of Columbia, Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University, to one of the country's largest gatherings of Black technology professionals, companies, and entrepreneurs.  

"The HBCU community is already deeply represented across the technology ecosystem, but much of that strength is invisible,” said Etoulia Salas-Burnett, executive director of the Center for Digital Business at Howard University. “Since 2024, The Yard has served as a central gathering place to bring that collective strength into focus, build on the relationships among our institutions, and connect students more directly into those networks. We want them to leave AfroTech with a clearer sense of how they can enter, contribute, and ultimately lead within this industry.” 

Programming at The Yard will include: 

• Across Generations, which will connect established HBCU alumni and industry leaders with emerging talent. 
• A conversation with Andrew Lindsay, corporate vice president of cloud and artificial intelligence platforms business development at Microsoft, Howard University trustee, and chair of the Center for Digital Business Advisory Board. HBCU Giving Challenge, a friendly competition inviting AfroTech attendees to support the HBCU of their choice and compete for recognition based on total dollars raised and number of donors. 
•  In collaboration with North Carolina A&T State University, Howard will lead a student-focused workshop using artificial intelligence to help participants strengthen their professional presence and communicate their value in high-stakes career and networking settings. 
• The Black Brilliance Display Wall will highlight the history and continuing contributions of Black innovators by featuring 30 leaders and changemakers across four themes: Discover, Build, Multiply, and Invent. The installation will incorporate historic imagery from Howard University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center alongside contemporary examples of Black achievement.  

Additional programming will include mentoring, HBCU meetups, networking activities and opportunities for students, alumni, and industry leaders to connect throughout the week. 

“For ten years, AfroTech has been built on a simple belief: when Black technologists have access to the right rooms, they change the industry,” said Simone Tyler, senior vice president of AfroTech and Live Events at Blavity Inc. “Howard University has been an essential partner in that work, and The Yard has grown into one of the most meaningful spaces at our conference, where students, alumni, and industry leaders come together with real purpose. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary, we are proud to help bring 100 HBCU students to Houston and to give every attendee a way to invest directly in the institutions that have shaped generations of Black leadership.”  

Learn more about the Center for Digital Business at Howard University and support its mission here.  

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