In the past few years, we have witnessed many incidents surrounding race and racial divide in the nation. Everyday there are stories related to racial tension on most major news channels.

My journey to becoming a chief information officer in higher education technology has also seen its share of challenges as a black male in a majority white leadership environment. While my experiences could have very well been barriers in my success, perseverance and persistence have led me to turn those experiences into fuel for excellence.

From programmer to supervisor

During my early years in technology as a programmer, I was judged primarily on my skills and performance. Nonetheless, it seemed like the more I progressed professionally, the more roadblocks were intentionally placed in my path to hinder me. After a few years of being a top-performing programmer, I was assigned my first supervisor role. Almost immediately I began to face criticism from colleagues who felt years of service were more important than job performance and accomplishments. Complaints were made to my supervisor and almost daily I was engaged in conversations where colleagues tried to prove they were more knowledgeable. 

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