Celebrating Black Innovators in Tech: Contributions That Shaped Our World

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the Underrepresented in Tech podcast, where we talk about issues of underrepresentation and have difficult conversations. Underrepresented in Tech is a free database with a goal of helping people find new opportunities in WordPress and tech.

 

Hello, Samah.

 

[00:00:19] Speaker B: Hello, Michelle.

 

[00:00:21] Speaker A: And Happy Black History Month. How are you?

 

[00:00:24] Speaker B: Happy Black History Month to you, too. I’m good. I’m good. Getting mentally and physically ready for Word Camp. Asia.

 

[00:00:30] Speaker A: Same. I got my suitcase out of the closet last night, so I’m on my way.

 

[00:00:36] Speaker B: You’re one headstep for me. I’m just, like, still in my brain. I will do it on the weekend.

 

I’m getting ready for WordCamp Asia. I’m happy I’m going to see you there, meet a lot of amazing WordPress people, and see the Asian community. So I’m really happy about it. Yeah.

 

[00:00:53] Speaker A: I hope you’re prepared for an uncomfortably long hug because I am not going to let go once I hug you.

 

[00:00:59] Speaker B: Me too. 

 

[00:01:03] Speaker A: Love it.

 

Well, just so people understand, like, we will not be recording next week or the week after, and I think the week after that. So I think it’s going to be a few weeks’ hiatus before we’re back. And it is Black History Month. And so we did want to make sure during Black History Month on a podcast about underrepresentation and technology, that we pay homage to the people in the black community who have contributed enormously and even. Even the people who, let’s face it, people who don’t contribute enormously are contributing. But we did want. We did a little bit of research. We found some articles. We will put links to all the articles that I found, not even just the ones we’re going to read today in the show notes, so that you also, Dear Listener. I love saying, dear listener. It makes me feel like Dear Abby or something. So you also, dear Listener, can do a little bit of research and find even more people than we’re able to fit into one podcast today. But first, I want to give a shout out, if you’ll Allow Me to Blackpress, which is a WordPress group for black WordPressers around the world and who have a very special community for black wordpressors and their allies. I am very honored to be in that Slack channel with them and be somebody who can contribute positively by sharing opportunities in that group. And the founders, I think, trying to remember, I. I’m not. I’m not going to say names because I’m going to mess up for sure. But the founders who have since handed those reins to other people who have taken up those reins and, eventually will hand over those reins to other people in the future, for sure do a great job of pulling that community together. So this episode, if you’ll allow me to say this, Sama, is dedicated to those fine people who are doing everything that they can to make sure that there is representation for the Black community in WordPress. So shout out to all of you.

 

So I found all I had to do was type in black people technology enter. And I came up with so many things, things that I didn’t have any idea. First of all, I didn’t know who had invented some of these things. I didn’t even ever think about it beforehand because it’s not something that’s part of my everyday usage. But when you hear that people who are typically underrepresented keep bringing to the table all these amazing ideas and moving forward in spite of the fact that oftentimes they aren’t recognized either within their own timeline or financially, that kind of thing for the work that they do, I think is pretty cool. So, so, yeah, so I wanted to start just this. I’m just going to read a list of things just to kind of give you an idea, dear reader, because somehow’s already seen some of the things that have been invented. I’m just going to read a list and then we’re going to go a little more in-depth into another list that we found specifically about some more I think, recent technology. But let’s. So let me just start this way. In 1812, Thomas L. Jennings invented dry cleaning. How cool is that?

 

In 1872, Elijah J. McCoy invented the automatic lubricator for things that would have to do with steam engines locomotives, and ships. 1885, Sarah E. Goode. I’m not sure how to pronounce that. Sarah E. Goode invented the folding bed, which is pretty cool, right? So it makes more room in your house. In 1886, John P. Parker invented the tobacco press.

 

1891, Phillip Downing invented the street letterbox. So you could actually not have to go into the post office. You could just drop your stuff off. In 1923, Garrett Morgan invented the traffic light, which now we have all over the world. 1928, Marjorie Joyner invented the wave machine, which is specifically for treating black hair and creating those waves that they put in their hair, especially back in the 1920s. Right. Like I think about all the flappers and the really cool hairstyles there.

 

1919, Alice H. Parker improved central heating systems. 1928, Augustus Jackso became the father of ice cream.

 

I mean, if I’m going to give a shout-out to anybody, it’s the guy who.

 

The father of ice cream. In 1966, Marie Van Brittan Brown invented the first home security system. Shout out to her for keeping us all safe. In 1969, George Carruthers invented the ultraviolet spectrograph.

 

I don’t even know what that is. I probably don’t have one in my house, but that’s kind of the case. It’s actually used by NASA and Flight to capture images, so I definitely don’t have one in my house, but that’s pretty cool. And in 1986, Patricia Bath invented the laser, the Laserphaco Probe

 

I don’t know what it is. Let me see, what does it do?

 

She studied blindness and found that African Americans are twice as likely to suffer from blindness than other racial groups. And she began working on her invention, which uses laser technology to provide painless and precise treatment of cataracts.

 

[00:06:19] Speaker B: Wow, that’s awesome. That’s super great.

 

[00:06:22] Speaker A: It’s very awesome. For sure. Yeah. And then I also, like. I wanted to talk about this movie that’s been recommended. Like, what year did it come out? It came out in 2016. It’s been a little while.

 

[00:06:32] Speaker B: Yeah.

 

[00:06:33] Speaker A: Called Hidden Figures. And if you aren’t familiar with it, if you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend this movie. I’ve probably seen it six times. Love this movie. It’s a movie about women, specifically black women who were instrumental as human calculators. This is before they brought in, you know, machine calculating, who were calculating for NASA, the trajectories and all kinds of things that had to do with spaceflight. And it specifically centers on one woman, Catherine Goble, who was instrumental in the space flight. I believe it said, John Glenn. So, I mean, everything. You know, we. I recently saw part of the halftime show for the Super Bowl, the football Super Bowl, American football, Super Bowl. And there was a very physical representation of the fact that so much of the United States has been built on the. The backs of black people in this world through slavery, through labor, through, you know, all of our prison systems, all of these different things where black people have been used in a way that was not necessarily fair. Right. I mean, obviously, slavery wasn’t. But even today, so many, especially black women.

 

[00:07:54] Speaker B: Right.

 

[00:07:54] Speaker A: We talked about this in other episodes. The wage gap is significant. And so to look at all of these contributions and know that even technology has been built on the backs of our black predecessors who have contributed in tremendous ways, it’s, yeah, it’s just. It’s amazing, and we wanted to pay homage to all of these amazing inventors. So I know that you have a list of things that people want to talk through too, so I’ll let you start.

 

[00:08:23] Speaker B: Okay. Yeah. The list that I would love to mention is the ten black technology pointers. Of course, my apologies if I put your name on anybody. It’s not personal but my Arabic and learning Dutch and English pronunciation. It’s.

 

[00:08:41] Speaker A: We tried yeah.

 

[00:08:43] Speaker B: The first one is Gerald A. Lawson

.

 

If you have ever played PlayStation, Xbox, or any other games, he was the one who created the first interchangeable console, allowing games to play a variety of games. So, if you’re a big fan of PlayStation all the time, think about Gerald. The next one is Mark Dean he was thought to be one of of the technology greatest inventors in 1981 and also he was the first one or first the color African American person to join IPM fellow, would you like to take over or do you want me to continue?

 

[00:09:30] Speaker A: We can go back and forth if you’d like. So Dr. Gladys West is next on the list and if you’ve ever used gps, which of course we all have at this point, you can thank Dr. Gladys West. Her mathematical model accurately represented the shape of the earth which made GPS possible. But it wasn’t until 2018 that she was actually recognized for her important work.

 

[00:09:53] Speaker B: Marc Hannah if you know Gladiator, Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, and Toy Story, all of those have something in common. Of course, they have special effects software designed by Silicon Graphics.

 

Now SGI I company was co-founded by Marc Hannah. His and his team are responsible developing the 3D technology in Hollywood movies.

 

[00:10:18] Speaker A: Very cool. Roy L. Clay helped launch Hewlett Packard’s computer division in the 1960s and is often referred to as the godfather of black Silicon Valley. He was instrumental in breaking down barriers for African Americans in tech and recruiting other development and talent that’s helped usher in the new wave of black tech innovators.

 

[00:10:40] Speaker B: Valerie Thomas From 1964 to 1995, Thomas worked for various NASA agencies, where she developed real-time computer data systems and managed various operations projects and facilities.

 

[00:10:55] Speaker A: Pretty cool. John Henry Thompson is the father of lingo programming, developing the popular scripting language to help render visuals on computer screens. We all rely on that for sure in our work. Adobe fans can also be grateful for his object-oriented programming language, which Adobe embedded into a number of its products.

 

[00:11:18] Speaker B: Marian R. Croak, Marian was indicated into Women in Technology International’s hall of Fame as recognition for her incredible achievements in technology.

 

Currently VB engineering at Google. Notably, she holds 135 patents primarily in voice over Internet protocols.

 

[00:11:42] Speaker A: Wow. VoIP. That’s pretty cool.

 

I don’t have one patent. I have ideas but no pens. Lisa, I’m going to say this wrong probably, but Lisa Gelobter. If you have a favorite gif and I have several favorite gifts, you can thank Lisa for that and you’re able to share them. She was integral in the creation of Shockwave, a technology that formed the beginning of web animation. She’s also played a key part in the emergence of online video and was part of Hulu’s senior launch team. She’s since gone on to hold the post of Chief Digital Service officer with the U.S. Department of Education.

 

Oh gosh. You ended up with the really last one. I think I’ll pronounce it. I’ll try to pronounce his name and then you could tell what he did. But Philip.

 

Oh his last name is so long. Philip Emeagwali has an amazing story.

 

[00:12:37] Speaker B: He’s forced to drop out of school at 14 years old. He went back one of the and he became one of the greatest computer pointers of all time. He studied studying bees as an adult. And the construction of the honeycomb inspired Emmanuel to rethink computer processing. In 1989 he created the world’s first supercomputer using 65000 processors and and could perform 3.1 billion calculations per second.

 

[00:13:10] Speaker A: That’s a lot of calculations per second.

 

Billion per second. That some of this stuff just boggles my mind. Okay. But I have to. So my little side story is I still don’t understand how magnetic tape like cassette tapes that we used to use can capture my voice and reproduce it. So I am not the person to be inventing things.

 

Looking@blog.launchcode.org, sL Black History Month, which will include all these things again. I wanted to call out Dr. Shirley Jackson. She was the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

 

She was also. Let’s see, she was called away from academia when President Clinton. Bill Clinton asked her to serve as chair of the Nuclear Regulation Commit Commission, which she did, and then she was president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her previous service on the boards of Rutgers and MIT prepared her to lead the charge in transforming Rochester. I’m sorry, Rochester. That’s where I live, Ron Solera Polytechnic Institute, a world-class technology research university.

 

There’s just. There are so many amazing people.

 

[00:14:15] Speaker B: Definitely.

 

[00:14:16] Speaker A: Yeah.

 

[00:14:17] Speaker B: We can spend I think, the next one week or the whole month celebrating their achievements in lif,e and we would still be missing out. And I think it’s really amazing opportunity to honor their achievements. Even reading about it, talking about it, the struggles they went through and of course, they started to make life easy for us because just they bring the pattern and promote that everyone can do it. And of course I am happy with this celebration of month otherwise like for people outside the United States. We will never know how many great people help enhance our lives today.

 

[00:15:04] Speaker A: Yeah, there are two other people I just want to call up briefly. Guillaume Bluford Jr. Was the first African American to travel into space. May Jemison was the first black woman to travel into space, and she spent 190 hours there. And that was her second career. She had already done a lot at Stanford and was a part of the police corps as a medical officer in Sierra Leone and Liberia. I know, right? Crazy she has. There are just some great quotes if I can share a few of those too. She says, don’t ever let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity or your curiosity. Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations. And sometimes, people have already decided who you are without your story shining through. But be yourself, the world needs you, your imagination and your solutions. Fear doesn’t always have to be a weakness. I love that it’s okay to be afraid and do things anyway. Right.

 

Which I think is pretty cool. And she likes to think of ideas as potential energy.

 

I’m just, I am just inspired by so many people who’ve done so many things. I think to myself sometimes I’ve done a lot in this world, but I’ve never created any of these kinds of things. Like I put thoughts and ideas and you know, I write things. But wouldn’t it be fun to invent something that everybody goes to, and the world is so much better because Michelle Frechette invented whatever this thing in my hands is?

 

[00:16:29] Speaker B: Yeah, it is great. And also the thing is because of the struggle or the obstacle they have to come through just to make this happen and the legacy they left, like me, I also want to have something now I’m having this, but I want to create something that makes happiness in the world. You know, like people remember it. And also, it is not easy. I think most of them started at that time really fighting the stereotypes Fighting racism, of course, is still fighting in it today, but just comparing now and before, I think it is totally different, of course, but I think just fighting and just giving the best of they can. It’s really impressive.

 

[00:17:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I do too. And especially in a time where, and I’m speaking again from my own country, our current president has canceled DEI initiatives have been removed and there are lawsuits right now for so many things, for people being fired from the government because those were their jobs, from the president blaming DEI on plane crashes and things like that. It’s just, it’s mind-boggling to look and see what kinds of innovations and how we have benefited so much from all of these people and more that we’ve named on the show. And yet, for our. My government is saying things that they’re saying about DEI right now. And so I just, you know, again, wanted to really shout out and make sure that people are aware that this country, this world, and the technologies that we use day to day have not just been built by white people; people have built them. And there’s. And not just white and black people. Of course, there’s more than that. But this being Black History Month, we specifically wanted to call out some of these amazing innovators. Yeah, exactly.

 

[00:18:26] Speaker B: Yeah. I want to celebrate them because I know it’s very difficult times now because, with the DEI and a lot of things happening and, of course, blaming things on diversity and the reason, because I have common sense, there are people who will listen. This month we’re celebrating black history, and at the same time, it’s really important to say what all of us, diversity, the diverse group, can bring to the table together, unity. We are stronger. We can benefit from our differences, Creativity, and different ways we look at other things. And it is really important to talk during those times. Of course, I will say never because you never know what’s going to happen in Europe.

 

[00:19:14] Speaker A: True, true.

 

[00:19:15] Speaker B: Just let me see. That is. It’s crazy. Instead of moving forward, looking at our history, and learning from it, we just go backward.

 

[00:19:25] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah.

 

So, for all that said, congratulations on all the accomplishments of all these amazing people. I mean, some of them died a long time ago, especially those that were accomplishing things in the 1800s, you know, and special, you know, homage to their memories and to the people who are innovating now. Keep on doing what you’re doing. The world needs you, and they need your voice, as well as your ideas and dreams. To paraphrase Mae Jemison. So, thanks for hanging in. This was a really fun historical episode.

 

[00:19:58] Speaker B: Yeah.

 

[00:19:59] Speaker A: Just kind of call out some amazing inventions and. Yeah, it’s pretty cool. So, yeah, thank you. Keep. Carry on, carry on, carry on.

 

[00:20:08] Speaker B: Yes, exactly.

 

[00:20:09] Speaker A: And we’ll see you in March with our next episode, which probably will be talking about some of the things that we did in Asia. But if you have ideas for our podcast on ways that underrepresented people can be better represented, we want to hear from you. So go to our website, hit us up in the contact form, DM us anywhere, and Pull us aside when you see us at an event. We are interested in learning from you. Thank you. Yeah.

 

[00:20:36] Speaker B: And also at the same time, come and find us at WordCampAsia. I would love to meet you in person.

 

[00:20:40] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So, okay. Thank you. All right, bye.

 

[00:20:44] Speaker B: See you in March.

 

[00:20:45] Speaker A: Bye.

 

If you’re interested in using our database, joining us as a guest for an episode or just want to say Hi, go to underrepresentedintech.com See you next week.

 

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to the Underrepresented in Tech podcast, where we talk about issues of underrepresentation and have difficult conversations. Underrepresented in Tech is a free database with the goal of helping people find new opportunities in WordPress and tech.ere is try to talk about what makes the