As a Black 16-year-old growing up in Atlanta’s Adamsville community, Mayor Andre Dickens couldn’t even tell you where the Georgia Tech campus was located. That’s not what he wants for today’s local youth.

Dickens, the first in his family to attend college, is the first Black alumnus to be elected mayor — and only the second Tech alumnus to hold the position, following in the footsteps of the late Ivan Allen Jr.

Black History Month is a time to reflect on African Americans’ achievements and struggles. It’s also a time to highlight individuals who, today, are doing the work to make society more just and more inclusive.

This work is happening across Tech’s campus, by students and researchers who focus on race-related or antiracist technology and research, and by those who, simply by existing and thriving in spaces where they are underrepresented, are helping to bring about change.