At this year’s AfroTech conference, Black tech workers sang, pitched, and worried about being laid off

Several attendees who survived layoffs quietly told me they worried they might be next on the chopping block — even as they represented their companies at recruiting booths that weren’t doing much recruiting.

‘Virtue signaling’

Microsoft did not have a recruiting booth at the conference this year. Although it did host four events, including an “AI Networking Dinner for Underrepresented Founders” that was more of a banquet than an opportunity to pitch.

“We’re here, but it’s virtue signaling,” one Microsoft employee told me.

A Microsoft spokesperson, who asked not to be named, noted that there were recruiting efforts at Afrotech this year, but that the company hasn’t had a recruiting booth for several years.

Not technical enough

Several tech employees lamented that the programming wasn’t technical enough to be useful to them. A Morgan Stanley employee said some of the programming reflected the stereotype that there aren’t high-level Black technologists and that content catered to less-technical or more entry-level job seekers.

It was easy to spot the crowd that descended upon Austin for AfroTech this year, which drew 35,000 participants.

Singing ‘SkeeYee’

The hosting hotel teemed with young Black professionals. When I arrived, a group of youths walked past in lock-step singing Sexyy Red’s “SkeeYee”. It set the tone for an event where some attended to celebrate, while others came in search of jobs.

A sponsored event by dating app Hinge, and a separate $40-per-ticket gathering for singles, took place alongside professional networking opportunities as attendees could equally vie for a romantic partner or pitch a startup funder.

The growth of the event was palpable as sessions, including one with headliner Issa Rae, quickly reached capacity and had to turn ticketed attendees away. Bigger music acts such as Rick Ross and Jadakiss performed for conference-goers who paid $2,450 for the priciest tickets.

Scouting for funding

Wes Eugene, chief information officer of IDEO, presented on the AfroTech Product & Engineering stage. I introduced the panelists. They were comfortable speaking to an audience that looked like them, but also felt an urgency to share knowledge that Black tech professionals don’t always get access to.

While many of the Black tech workers at Afrotech were waiting for the other shoe to drop, they also scouted for startup ideas and funding.

One conference-goer pulled presenter Jason Lee aside to demo an app they’d hastily coded from their bedroom the week before. They got feedback and exchanged contact details. Lee, CEO of the startup Salt Labs, suggested he might want to invest.

“That just really validated the idea for my startup and to keep working on it,” the coder told me. “So I feel I got something out of coming here.”