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Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced on Tuesday his company’s plan to invest $300 million to improve diversity in the technology industry. The move comes after a year-long campaign waged by Rev. Jesse Jackson and other activists who demanded Silicon Valley diversify their workforces to include more minorities and women.

Krzanich has set an aggressive goal of achieving company parity by 2020.

Rev. Jackson, who has appeared on “NewsOne Now every Tuesday for the last year to discuss tech diversity, spoke with Roland Martin about this game changing announcement Wednesday morning during an interview on the “Tom Joyner Morning Show.” Jackson highlighted how Intel’s initiative will impact HBCU’s and bring new jobs to the African American community.

BlackAmericaWeb.com quoted Rev. Jackson as saying:

“We are trying to build a linkage between black colleges and the engineering department. It means more jobs. It means giving Black ad agencies capital.”

“NewsOne Now” panelist Angela Rye believes Intel’s announcement will “shape the minds” of tech companies and start ups.

Martin told the panel, which was comprised of Rye, Robert Traynham and  Dr. Maya Rockemoore, that as a result of Intel’s announcement, “I know Tim Cook at Apple woke up, the Microsoft CEO woke up and other CEOs woke up and said, ‘they’re doing this, we now have to come up with and answer’” to this groundbreaking move in tech.

Listen to Martin, Angela Rye, Robert Traynham and Dr. Maya Rockemoore discuss Intel’s challenge to Silicon Valley to diversify in the audio clip below.

Be sure to listen to “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin, weekdays at 7 a.m. EST and watch at 9 a.m. EST on TV One.

Subscribe to the “NewsOne Now” Audio Podcast on iTunes.