SAN JOSE, Calif. ― Just months after stepping down as head of the nation’s largest civil rights organization, former NAACP President Benjamin Jealous is changing his career from an East Coast political activist to a West Coast venture capitalist, a switch he hopes will help further his goal of growing opportunities for Blacks and Latinos in the booming tech economy.
“My life’s mission has been leveling the playing field and closing gaps in opportunity and success,” Jealous, 41, told The Associated Press before Tuesday’s announcement. “I’m excited about trying a different approach.”
The Northern California native and self-confessed computer geek will be joining entrepreneurs Mitchell Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein at their venture capital investment firm that backs information technology startups committed to making a positive social impact.
Fred Turner, who studies culture and technology as an associate professor at Stanford University, said it’s “fascinating that a person of his caliber and experience would move into this space.”
Turner said there’s a deep question going on in the U.S. about how to accomplish positive social change.
“In the Silicon Valley they approach it entrepreneurially; in Washington they approach it politically,” Turner said. “These are two very different modes.”
Jealous said he and his family will remain in Silver Spring, Md., but he’ll commute to the West Coast about once a month.
