(WXYZ) — Apple announced Wednesday it will open the first-ever Apple Developer Academy in downtown Detroit later this year.
The announcement was part of the company's $100 million Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, which will have new projects around the country to help end barriers to opportunity and injustices faced by communities of color.
The developer academy in Detroit is expected to empower Black entrepreneurs, creators and coders and help them learn skills for jobs in the iOS app economy.
Apple partnered with Michigan State University for the courses, which will be open to all people across Detroit.
There will be two different programs as part of the Apple Developer Academy.
The first is a 30-day introductory program designed for people who are thinking about app economy careers and to better understand what it means to be a developer.
The second is a full academy program, which will be from 10 to 12 months and will help build skills around developing and creating your own business. It's expected to reach about 1,000 students each year focusing on coding, design, marketing and professional skills.
“We are all accountable to the urgent work of building a more just, more equitable world — and these new projects send a clear signal of Apple’s enduring commitment,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a release. “We’re launching REJI’s latest initiatives with partners across a broad range of industries and backgrounds — from students to teachers, developers to entrepreneurs, and community organizers to justice advocates — working together to empower communities that have borne the brunt of racism and discrimination for far too long. We are honored to help bring this vision to bear, and to match our words and actions to the values of equity and inclusion we have always prized at Apple.”
The company chose Detroit because the city has what they call a "vibrant Black entrepreneur and developer community, with over 50,000 Black-owned businesses."
