Kimberly Bryant woke up in her Bay Area home early Tuesday morning to an email from her board announcing that she would no longer be serving as executive director of Black Girls Code. The organization she’d spent the last decade building in the name of creating opportunities for thousands of Black girls in tech, and features in publications like Fast Company, Business Insider, and others, would no longer be under her purview.
“So it’s 3 days before Christmas and you wake up to discover the organization YOU created and built from the ground up has been taken away by a rogue board with no notification,” Bryant wrote on Twitter.
Effective immediately, an interim executive director was appointed by the board to manage day-to-day activities of the organization.
The notice threw many within the Black tech ecosystem off-balance. Just days before Christmas, Bryant’s ousting from her role brought forth a fiery Twitter discussion on board governance and fairness, as many prominent Black women in tech expressed their dissent for the move.
Bryant, a figure-head of the organization she founded in 2011, has successfully built up Black Girls Code to an over $3 million annual operating budget, serving over 20,000 young Black girls from ages 7 to 17 across 15 chapters across the country.
According to a statement from the Black Girls Code board obtained by The Plug, the board notes that Bryant remains on staff while “serious allegations of workplace impropriety are being investigated.” Details on these improprieties were not disclosed.
“The board of directors is committed to the long-term health, stability and viability of this organization,” the statement read. “On behalf of the young women we are honored to serve, we look forward to building on the foundation established by Ms. Bryant and creating a brighter future for millions of Black girls.”
A request for comment from Bryant on these allegations went unanswered.
