CNN TV "Black In America" Explores Silicon Valley's Discrimination

Silicon Valley has created mucho success + many millionaires.

But are Minorities receiving equal chances? How are they treated? Do they also reap benefits?

We're very interested, and we bet many Latinos into Technology want some answers. In this TV program, African Americans are followed in their challenges dominated by a 'White' Silicon Valley.

See video:

* if video doesn't appear, click link: http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2011/10/10/us-new-black-in-america-trail...

Where:

"The New Promised Land - Silicon Valley" airs Sunday, November 13 at 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Pacific on CNN. Watch the trailer:

About:

"What's the future of America," asks Soledad O'Brien, CNN's special correspondent for the "In America" series, "if there's an area that's the engine of growth for the American economy, and Black people are left out of it? What's at risk there?"

Reporting this special brought some controversy O'Brien's way even before the show aired.

TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington fired off a heated blog post (WARNING: strong language) about his interview for the documentary, in which he said he didn't know one black tech entrepreneur. He felt CNN ambushed him by hiding the true topic of the interview and by omitting amendments he made to his original statement.

O'Brien responded with a post of her own, writing that what Arrington said, though perhaps uncomfortable, is also accurate.

"I don't think he's being a racist. I think he's being very honest and very blunt, and very factual, and very realistic. There are not very many. Hence, our documentary. "I think a lot of the controversy was kind of just people around it sort of whipping it up into a frenzy."

The lack of Black-owned tech startups is certainly not due to a lack of entrepreneurial spirit: the Census shows Blacks are starting businesses at triple the national rate.

Still, less than 4 percent of all businesses in our Bay Area are Black-owned. Statistics for the San Jose area are incomplete, and figures on the number of Black-owned tech companies are hard to come by.

President Obama held an event at the White House Wednesday to promote his policies for African-Americans, including helping entrepreneurs find capital. Those policies, however, as documented by his administration, do not specifically mention high-tech startups or tech entrepreneurship.

It's a thorny topic, but not one O'Brien shies away from. In fact, this Black-Cuban-Australian woman with a white husband and four multiracial children says it's right up her alley. "I feel like I've been talking about race my whole life. I really enjoy it. ... I welcome those conversations, and I welcome debate. If it's respectful, and sometimes even if it's not..."