The biggest tech companies had less of a presence at this year's AfroTech Conference , a large gathering of Black tech professionals. Black joy and celebration were on display while the reality of a tougher tech job market lurked in the background. Not technical enoughSeveral tech employees lamented that the programming wasn't technical enough to be useful to them. They were comfortable speaking to an audience that looked like them, but also felt an urgency to share knowledge that Black tech professionals don't always get access to. While many of the Black tech workers at Afrotech were waiting for the other shoe to drop, they also scouted for startup ideas and funding.

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Persons: hasn't, Morgan Stanley, Austin, Issa Rae, Rick Ross, Jadakiss, Wes Eugene, IDEO, goer, Jason Lee, Lee Organizations: Microsoft, Engineering, Labs Locations: Afrotech