On Monday, February 28, 2022, the Entertainment Software Association marked the final day of Black History Month by hosting the Congressional Black Associates (CBA) newly-elected Executive Board (E-Board) and guests for an evening of games, food and conversation.
“We are excited about celebrating Black history,” said ESA President and CEO Stanley Pierre-Louis during his welcoming remarks to CBA. “One of the things we’ve done as an organization is reexamine how we can do even more on DEI-related issues, because for us, it’s not an initiative or a checklist—it’s something we live day-in and day-out.”
Pierre-Louis discussed some of the ESA’s recent efforts on diversity, equity and inclusion, including sponsoring a STEAM fellowship on Capitol Hill with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, as well as a partnership with Black Girls Code. He also touched on the important contributions Black engineers, developers and creators have made in the video game industry, highlighting Jerry Lawson, the inventor of the cartridge media format used in many classic video game consoles.
“Whether you’re playing Nintendo, or Atari or any of these old systems, [Jerry Lawson] was the inventor of those things,” said Pierre-Louis.
2022 CBA President Kayla Primes also spoke about the work CBA is doing to support Black staffers working in House and Senate offices.
“CBA is an organization to empower black staffers on the House and the Senate side, to create a sense of community to ensure that we are focusing on upward mobility, professional development workshops, community service and so much more,” Primes said.
For more information about Congressional Black Associates, please visit their website.
