Jason Gibson Brings Computer Coding to Black Youth through Hood Code

By Fern Gillespie
Learning about entrepreneurship and technology while in prison was a life changer for Jason Gibson. As a youth and young adult, the Queens native had been incarcerated several times for dealing drugs. In 2013, when he was released from prison, he was determined to make a positive difference for Black and Hispanic youth through technology.

By 2019, he launched the nonprofit Hood Code, which merged his mission as a changemaker for Black and Hispanic youth through teaching computer coding and being a social entrepreneur. Gibson grew up in NYCHA housing and now Hood Code is situated in NYCHA housing projects in New York. Over 400 Black and Hispanic young people ages 8 to 13 in Harlem and Queens have learned computer coding through afterschool programs at community centers and summer programs.

During COVID, Brooklyn students participated online. In 2022, Hood Code received a $200,000 grant from The David Prize, which celebrates extraordinary New Yorkers. Our Time Press spoke with Hood Code founder Jason Gibson for our series on Black youth living with the new technologies.

What inspired you to start Hood Code while you were in prison?
During my time in prison, I decided to really take it seriously and put some of my ideas to fruition. I started studying a lot about the tech industry, app development, and entrepreneurship. It led me to see how much I didn’t know and how much people from my community probably didn’t know because we didn’t have access to technology. I learned business and the different coding languages and software that existed. I read about the tech founders of our time like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerburg. Also, stories about having access to computer coding at young ages. That’s what inspired me to just start Hood Code.

What do the students learn at Hood Code?
The ages that we work with are 8 to 15. We’re teaching them just the basic fundamentals of coding so we’re using Scratch. It’s a platform that was created by MIT. It’s an Introduction to coding and some of the disciplines that go into computer coding. We are exposing the kids from our neighborhoods to the concept of coding and helping them develop disciplines like critical thinking and the other hard skills and soft skills that go into coding.

The goal is to introduce them to coding while young and to also have the infrastructure in place to allow them to continue that education into more sophisticated coding languages like tech-based coding.

What type of tech projects do the students work on?
We do projects that are predominantly games that the students are creating. They are creating games like tennis games or ping pong type of games where they customize their background and customize their functions. We have introduced some students to website development. But, because our students are really young that’s been a challenge.

Are the younger students, like the 8-year-olds, involved in special coding projects?
The eight-year-olds are using Scratch. For a lot of our students, coding is their first time getting exposed to it so they’re using Scratch, which is basically a block-based computer coding. Imagine Legos with code in it.

So, you put these blocks together like puzzle pieces with code in it. As you put them together, what it does is that it makes your games function. There are different levels to Scratch–from easy to more complex levels.

All of your students are underserved and the program takes place at community centers in NYCHA buildings. Do many of your students have access to computers at home?
No, they don’t. What Hood Code does is we provide the computers, the internet, if necessary hotspots at the community centers. We have the teachers and we give refreshments, and we have projects. We bring everything.

All the students have to do is show up we go to the community centers in NYCHA developments. It’s an afterschool program and we bring our program in for free. For most of our students, the only access to technology that they have at home is a smartphone. Not computers. You can’t do this type of programming on a smartphone. A lot of times families cannot afford a computer.

The household family income for a Hood Code student is $25,000. It’s the average for a family income in NYCHA. They have to pay bills and groceries and things like that and they can’t afford things like computers and the cost of an afterschool program like Hood Code. These kids are fantastic at Googling and doing research by using Google. They are very savvy with the smartphone device. It’s just that you are limited in what you can do on the internet using a smartphone as far as creation.

How important is it for parents to be involved which their children’s work with the new technology?
It’s extremely important. I’m always encouraging parents to work and try with students. We always encourage parents to watch tutorials with the students even if it’s like a 15 or 30-minute tutorial on YouTube. Also allowing students a day to work on their project outside of Hood Code. We suggest reading material for the parents to use, and engage with the students at home. The more hours for practice, the better you become.

Are you looking at holding Hood Code programs in Brooklyn NYCHA housing?
There are a lot of housing projects in Brooklyn like the Marcy Houses and Brownsville Houses. A lot of the housing projects in Brooklyn are really tough notorious places and that’s part of my mission to bring Hood Code into some of the most needed neighborhoods.

Does Hood Code mentor Black youth to look at future careers in technology?
With technology being one of the things for people to amass a lot of wealth, young Black people must start learning about the tech industry and developing skills in the industry. We cannot only continue to be the tastemakers and the people who make it popular, but also the people who are in a position to monetize it, and create our own platforms. It’s ultimately a way to change a lot of our family’s financial legacies.

For more information on Hood Code, check out www.hoodcodenyc.com