Omar Perkins Jr. joins STL Hustle Insider for Episode 12 to talk about Black Tech Midwest, TPI, AI literacy, positive psychology, HBCU culture, workforce development, and the future of Black entrepreneurship in technology.

Omar explains how his early work through The Perkins Institute used positive psychology to help young Black men create life plans. He later shifted into AI literacy after seeing that communities like ours were often being introduced to artificial intelligence through fear, propaganda, and confusion instead of education, possibility, and access.

Through TPI, Omar focuses on making artificial intelligence understandable, especially for people who are not coders or traditional tech professionals. His work is rooted in three pillars of positive AI introduction: growth mindset, learned optimism, and critical thinking.

Omar also discusses Black Tech Midwest, Sipping Tech, Hack House USA, geospatial technology, drone career pathways, the importance of collaboration, and the belief that Black people must move beyond creating culture into owning the systems, companies, investments, and technology connected to that culture.

Omar Perkins Jr.
Founder, Black Tech Midwest
Founder, TPI, Tech Positive Innovations
AI Literacy Advocate, Entrepreneur, and Community Builder

Omar Perkins Jr. is the founder of Black Tech Midwest and TPI, Tech Positive Innovations, formerly known as The Perkins Institute.

His work focuses on artificial intelligence literacy, positive psychology, entrepreneurship, youth development, workforce innovation, and helping people from every area code and socioeconomic background gain access to the information they need to make educated decisions about technology.

Through Black Tech Midwest, Omar is helping build a stronger Black tech ecosystem across St. Louis, the Midwest, and beyond.

Guest Links

Black Tech Midwest: https://blacktechmidwest.com
Black Tech Midwest on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/black-tech-midwest-presents-unite-tech-conference-expo-2026-tickets-1989097685723
Omar Perkins Jr. on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-perkins-tpi/

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