The vision and purpose of Black Geek Week is to:
- Highlight the achievements of Africans Americans in academia, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and the Arts who have pushed the boundaries of thought and technology
- Expose the University of Illinois community to a demographic of “nerds” and “geeks” who are rarely highlighted in pop-culture and/or in contemporary discussions on geek culture that include comics, gadgets, research, gaming, science fiction, computers, and technology broadly defined.
- Critically discuss what “geek chic” is in Black culture while concurrently analyzing how people identified as “geeks” have been marginalized in terms of popularity, identity, masculinity, femininity and sexuality.
We want to broaden the participation of African Americans in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Science and the pursuit of doctoral degrees through a series of events that can increase exposure to a diverse group of faculty, accomplished professionals and graduate students.