The Root recently asked a question that’s been on the minds of lots of us who care about minority participation in the Web revolution: Where are the black Internet entrepreneurs?

In other words, where are the black Mark Zuckerbergs, Jack Dorseys, and Esther Dysons? It’s a question, quite frankly, that rankled and roused us here at Tech Camp  to get started on the Tech Camp concept nearly two years ago. In attending events such as PodCamp, WordCamp, and other conferences with high geek concentrations, we found it remarkable (and lamentable) that we could count the number of African Americans (and Latinos) on one hand, amidst a sea of hundreds of white and Asia-American attendees and presenters. Why aren’t more black people learning, teaching, and creating in this thriving space?

Black Enterprise also took notice of the phenomenon and concluded, as you might imagine, that it’s not an encouraging trend. People who aren’t black need to be concerned, too. Diversity isn’t just a nice corporate catchphrase, it’s a key competitive advantage in innovation — which is what we’ll need in abundance, across industries, in order to reverse the economic malaise of the past several years. Web technology just happens to be an industry where it’s much easier to get in and create products and services of value.

Statistically speaking, blacks are very high consumers of technology, but are notably underrepresented in creating it — especially in Silicon Valley, a U.S. hotbed of venture capital-backed, Web-based tech firms. I’m with BE columnist Hajj Flemings who writes:

“I can go on a rant about there not being enough tech startups founded by African Americans or there not being enough African American speakers at the social/digital media conferences, but I’d rather challenge our community to create a pipeline of qualified people and companies that demand the attention of the tech community and provide access and opportunities to close the digital divide.”

The dearth of African Americans in founder/management roles at tech startups is so pervasive that heaps of attention have been lavished recently on one initiative established to start remedying it, the New Me Accelerator.  Bankrolled by heavy hitters including Google, Pepsico, and a bevy of venture capitalists, New Me describes itself as an “accelerator” for minority led start-ups that will house a handful of visiting start-ups during the summer of 2011 in Silicon Valley.

The Root article, borrowing from The Washington Post, notes that access to investors and to existing, successful tech leaders are the keys to success for any up-and-coming minority-led tech firms. It makes perfect sense — it’s well known that we are a reflection of our reference groups. (You may have heard the old formula: take your five-closest friends, look at their income, their weight, their level of educational attainment, their career status, and yours will be an average of them all.)

Of course that’s not an ironclad rule, but it is fairly accurate. And it applies just as well to business start-ups — if you wish to succeed, hang out with people who’ve already made it. Pick their brains, become friends with their friends, and get their results.

So in answer to the question, “where are the black Internet entrepreneurs?” my answer would be that they’re out there, with worthwhile ideas in various stages of development. It will take outreach efforts from investors in the manner of New Me Accelerator. And it will require proactive curiosity from minority  techpreneurs themselves to “poke the box” (to borrow a phrase from marketer Seth Godin) and figure out the funding and connections puzzle that turns big ideas into implemented reality.

Akweli Parker is a co-founder of WABW Tech Camp and runs Digital Delta Media, a digital marketing consultancy. Have questions about how best to use the Web to grow your number of customers, members, or online followers? Visit www.digitaldeltamedia.com to read informative articles, download free guides, and request a free consultation.

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