TULSA, Okla.–When Tyrance Billingsley II, a descendant of Greenwood, first had the idea of transforming Black Wall Street into a premier tech hub, funders didn’t take him seriously. On the latest episode of In Depth With Deon Podcast, the founder of Black Tech Street breaks down how he turned doubters into believers.
“I talked to everybody in the city that I could, built out the vision, and showed them the spirit of Black Wall Street that built this, a lot of people probably said the same thing about those guys and those women,” Billinglsey told podcast host Deon Osborne.
In the episode, Tyrance Billingsley II opens up about his journey and why he believes up-skilling Black Tulsans into tech is crucial for the future of Black generational wealth.
Several years after launching his organization, and despite his young age, Billingsley has forged partnerships between Greenwood and Microsoft, along with other major tech companies like Nvidia.
Ultimately, one of his first tangible goals is to upskill 1,000 Black Tulsans into cyber jobs by the year 2030.
“AI is gonna transform every aspect of human life, and what we want this program to do is we want Greenwood to be at the forefront of how the entire world looks at how you apply artificial intelligence and make it the basic building block of the new world that’s coming,” Tyrance Billinglsey II said.
“That’s kind of what BTS is wanting to do. We don’t want to just rebirth Black Wall Street, we want to keep it globally competitive and at the forefront of the 21st Century.”
Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XJkOzaQs-jI?si=EKBwJ3ilmQ3vzCxM
Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.
Follow In Depth With Deon Podcast on YouTube and Patreon for new episodes and exclusive updates.
