By Raphael Francis

Since 2022, a small but ambitious community initiative has been quietly changing how Black youth in Durham Region see their place in science and technology. The Durham Black Youth in Technology (DBYIT) program was founded to give young people hands-on exposure to computing, robotics and avionics — fields where they have historically been underrepresented — and to help them build the confidence to imagine careers in them.

DBYIT was the brainchild of Raphael Francis, a retired college professor who set out to create a space where Black youth could explore technology not as an abstract subject, but as something to build, program and fly. From the outset, Francis was joined by Mrs. Sarah McDonald, a retired principal with the Durham District School Board and one of the most respected figures in Durham’s education community. Her decades of experience working with young people, along with her deep roots in the local school system, helped shape a program grounded in academic rigour and genuine care for participants.

The program is run out of the Sarah McDonald’s Place Learning Centre (SMPLC), at 1467 Whites Road North in Pickering, which serves as DBYIT’s home base for workshops, robotics builds and mentoring sessions.

DBYIT owes much of its reach to a partnership among three pillars of Durham’s Caribbean-Canadian community: Club Carib of Oshawa, the Canadian Jamaican Club (CJC) of Oshawa, and the Pickering Caribbean Canadian Cultural Association (PCCCA). By pooling their volunteers, networks and community spaces, these organizations have helped DBYIT reach families across the region who might not otherwise have access to structured technology programming.

At its core, DBYIT’s objectives are straightforward: to introduce Black youth to technology, robotics and avionics in a welcoming, culturally affirming environment; build practical skills through hands-on projects rather than lectures alone; connect participants with adult mentors who look like them and understand their communities; and, ultimately, open pathways toward further education and careers in STEM fields that remain difficult for Black youth to break into.

The program’s beneficiaries are young people across Durham Region — students who come through DBYIT’s doors curious about how machines work and, organizers hope, leave with a stronger sense that technology is a field where they belong and can lead.

Just as importantly, DBYIT has become a point of pride and collaboration for the community organizations behind it, demonstrating what is possible when educators, cultural associations and volunteers work toward a shared goal.

As DBYIT continues to grow, its founders say the mission remains the same as it was in 2022: to plant the seeds of curiosity in technology, robotics and avionics early, and give Durham’s Black youth the tools and support to grow those seeds into lasting careers.

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