Why Black Python Devs is and plans to be a perennial sponsor of the PyTexas Foundation
Jay Miller, founder of Black Python Devs, guest authors a blog about why BPD sponsors PyTexas.
This will be the 3rd year in which Black Python Devs has supported the PyTexas foundation. I am writing this as a part of our sponsorship agreement, but I think it goes without saying that I'm a massive fan of the organization, have personally attended their keystone event, PyTexas, twice now(1). I decided to sponsor PyTexas using my personal funds the first year based off a dream that the President of the PyTexas foundation said at the speakers dinner at that first event back in 2021. "I want to host a Python Conference in the Rio Grande Valley"
- I would have been in attendance every year but it tends to be the same week as a company offsite
I don't think you understand how hard that is¶
For those that don't know, the Rio Grande serves as a natural border between the US and Mexico. To do this event correctly, you'd need collaboration likely amongst participants on both sides of the border. Visas/Passports would be needed. There would need to be an immense amount of trust in the organizers. You'd probably need to get the support of both local governments and maybe even BORDER PATROL to ensure that the event went smoothly. All of this work would also mean that, for its size, the event would be quite expensive. But that wasn't all he had planned.
Mason began to explain to me how he wanted to see user groups that have been stale for years see new life. He wanted places like Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas-Fort Worth to not only have strong communities, but have an allied sense of community across the state. Texas is the 2nd most diverse state in America. It often gets stereotyped based on government policy. But it is steeped in the culture and history of so many groups of people. This was worth me buying 5 tickets and offering them to whomever in the community could use them.
Year two didn't disappoint¶
Black Python Devs was officially a non-profit and we wanted to find a partner that understood a lot of what we'd be tackling in the coming years. When we sat down with Mason this year, I wanted to know what PyTexas had been able to accomplish. Mason let me know about the revival of the PyHou community, which was the home user group of BPD's cofounder, Kojo Idrissa, and one of my favorite cities to visit. I'd met with a few Black Developers in Houston in the past and a sense of community in the sprawl of Texas was not something that you could do easily. At PyTexas 2025, I was happy to hear that the PyTexas foundation would be doing an event in San Antonio as well as offering more grants for its attendees which helps bring people across the state together.
One of the things that we've learned in our 3 years of operation is that things don't happen nearly as fast as you hope, wish, or think they should. This year at PyTexas I met Black Python Devs from Houston, Dallas, and Austin. They talked about how easy it was going to PyTexas and how this was making them interested in attending meetups and other conferences. BPD's mission is extending the python community to our communities around the world. We also believe in supporting the Python community that exists and making it sustainable and as welcoming as possible to Black and other historically excluded communities. We had no idea what to expect in year one. All we knew was that the leadership of PyTexas was caring and on a mission to make the community of Texas a safe and friendly environment for all of its members. Year two of supporting them showed really how much they can do in one year. We're so excited to learn what they can do in year three. I look forward to attending an amazing event in the future on the border in the Rio Grande Valley. I know it will be the friendliest, and most racially and culturally accessible event that I will have ever attended, regardless of what is going on outside the walls of the buildings.