Former NAACP President Ben Jealous coming to Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley's newest venture capitalist has social media experience - and a social justice background. Benjamin Jealous, the former NAACP president responsible for turning around the flagging civil rights institution, will join an Oakland venture capital firm dedicated to socially conscious investing.

His assignment as a venture partner with Kapor Capital and the Kapor Center for Social Impact: create a freeway to the tech world from poor communities of color where now there is little more than a trail. Only 6 percent of US tech workers are African American and 7 percent are Latino; 15 percent are Asian American and 71 percent are non-Hispanic white, according to 2011 census data.

Jealous, a former Alameda resident who revived the 105-year-old NAACP during his tenure that ended in December, is a lifelong activist with no tech or venture capital experience.