Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Right now, it's time for the Way Black History Fact.
In Today's Way Black History Fact is sponsored by Major
Threads for Innovative Fashionable Sports, where checkmajorthreads dot com And
today we're just going to share a list of black
tech giants that we haven't got to So these are
going to be like little brief bios, but we felt
like it was kind of important too. You know, we
(00:23):
always have these conversations we need to have more black
people in stem program steam programs in the tech space.
Obviously we're dealing with royalty insofar as that's concerned today,
but you know, we're also not absent, and I do
want to celebrate these names. You can find out the
full list at Purpose dot jobs. They have a separate
(00:45):
article delineating these incredible black contributors in the tech space.
These are the folks that are still alive and still contributing.
But I thought this was meaningful to share this, So
first up. John W. Thompson nineteen forty nine to present
has had an impressive career in tech. He began as
a salesperson at IBM and climbed up the company to
become the general manager at IBM America's He has also
(01:07):
served as the CEO of Virtual Instruments, CEO of saman Tech,
and today serves as the Chairman of Microsoft since twenty fourteen.
He's also made significant contributions to investing in the next
generation of tech. Mark Regis Hannah nineteen fifty six to
present for the graphics in Jurassic Park, Aladdin, Beauty in
the Beast, and more. We have Chicago native Mark Rains
Hannah to think. He was an electrical engineering computer graphics
(01:29):
designer in the eighties and nineties. In eighty two, he
founded Silicon Graphics, Incorporated, eventually becoming company's principal scientist. His
computer graphics technology has been used in major motion films
as well as commercials, the intro for Monday Night Football
and by George Lucas's visual effects studio Industrial Light and Magic.
Doctor Mark Dean nineteen fifty seven a present is an
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influential black tech leader and prominent figure in computer science.
Early on, he had an interest and a gift in technology,
building his own computer radio and amplifier when he was
in high school, and began working at IBM in nineteen eighty,
where he was an essential leader in developing the personal computer.
He holds three IBM three of IBM's original nine patents
for the PC. Beyond that, he holds a total of
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twenty patents, and throughout his career has made significant contribution
to IBM's research and development. More recently, he led the
team that produced the one gigahertz chip. He is the
first African American to become an IBM Fellow, which represents
the highest level of technical excellence. John Henry Thompson nineteen
fifty nine to present had used in has used his
background in computer science and visual arts to help bridge
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the early gap between technology and art. He is the
inventor of Lingo, a scripting language that renders visuals in
computer programs. Many programs that use graphics, animation, sound, and
video for interactive stimulas simulations still use Lingo to this day.
It's also been used to create programs that are now
used in video games, web design, animation, and graphics and
(02:53):
Lisa Globe Term nineteen seventy one to present is a
computer scientist known for pioneering Internet technologies, including Shockwave, which
was the genesis of animation on the web. She also
contributed to the emergence of online video and worked on
the senior management team for the launch of Hulu. From
tech to policy. Lisa's experience has a huge range and
includes working at the White House and the US Digital Service,
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serving as the Chief Digital Service Officer for the Department
of Education. Lisa is the CEO and founder of Tequitable,
a platform that helps companies create a safe, inclusive, equitable workplace. Again,
that full list is at Purpose dot jobs, and we
couldn't even scratch the service there. There are black people
in tech and it's a fantastic thing to know when
(03:40):
you're not aware of it, because these folks aren't often
as celebrated. And I know that you had something for
this too. No, just what we didn't speak on doctor
Shirley Jackson. Oh yeah, that's your theoretical physicist class. I
wanted to make sure we said her name because that
was a men heavy list and I want our ladies
to know, our sisters, to know that they're sisters in
this space as well. Indeed, so again check uh Purpose
(04:01):
dot Jobs.