26 Feb Celebrating Black History Month
Futurus is celebrating Black History Month by sharing stories of those who have been an inspiration to us. These people helped to changes our views and perspective on the world and continue to motivate us to strive for more.
Katherine Johnson
“Katherine Johnson is a mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics were imperative to the first U.S. manned space mission and many thereafter. As an employee of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), which later transitioned to NASA, she worked in a pool of women performing math calculations. Following her success as a human “computer”, she went on to become an aerospace technologist, and dedicated decades of her life to NASA’s missions, including the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. In 2015, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 2018, she celebrated her 100th birthday. Katherine’s driven attitude, even when so many people told her no, gives me the motivation to innovate and push the boundaries of technology every day. And her legacy of overcoming a white, male-dominated field during a time of segregation is inspiring to all who learn her story.
– Annie Eaton
Mike Pondsmith
“Mike Pondsmith is a roleplaying, board and video game designer responsible for the influential roleplaying game Cyberpunk 2020. Released in 1984, the pen-and-paper role-playing game adapted the tone and aesthetic of movies like Blade Runner and brought it to the role-playing game industry. The game quickly became a hit and allowed Pondsmith to grow his publishing company, R. Talsorian Games, out of his home and into an office. Pondsmith has since released three editions of the game along with multiple other role-playing titles and his work has been adapted into the upcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077.”
– Pierce McBride
Jerry Lawson
“Most of the people who have talked to me for more than 7 seconds know that I love video games with the white-hot passion of a thousand suns. So, I wanted to bring attention to a man that helped define video games in the modern era. Jerry Lawson, born on December 1, 1940, had a lifelong love of science and engineering. It was this love that led him to join the Homebrew Computer Club while working at Fairchild Semiconductor. Here he was able to rub shoulders with many of legends of the computing industry including Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Adam Osborne to name a few. He was one of only two black members of the group. While working at Fairchild, Lawson and his team of engineers developed a technology that would revolutionize the gaming industry: interchangeable cartridges. Up until that point, games were stored on the console itself, meaning that a system would only have a set amount of games that couldn’t be changed (in those days, usually one). Lawson’s innovation of storing game programming on the cartridge meant that users could buy a collection of the game for their system without having to buy multiple version of the same hardware. At the same time, cartridge sales gave companies additional source of revenue and the potential to license out game development to other companies instead of keeping everything in house. Even today, if you pick up a Nintendo Switch, you can see the fruits of Lawson’s innovation.“
– Chan Grant
Brenda Banks
“Brenda Banks is quite possibly the first noted black woman animator. She worked in the industry around the from the late 1970s to mid-2000s. Banks was known for her natural talent as an animator, humor, and boldness. As an anecdote goes, she began her career in animation by walking into Ralph Bakshi’s studio and asking him directly for a job. Impressed with her passion for animation and confidence – he hired her on the spot. While at his studio she worked on Wizards, Lord of the Rings, and Fire and Ice. Banks continued a notable career after her work at Bakshi’s studio: working at Warner Brothers on the Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera on The Pirates of Dark Water and The Smurfs, and Fox’s The Simpsons, to note a few. Unfortunately, her whereabouts are unknown after her work on King of the Hill in the mid-2000s. Regardless, Banks is a pioneer for inclusiveness in the animation industry.”
– Shelby Vecchio
Lonnie Johnson
“Lonnie Johnson is an American inventor residing in Atlanta. He founded Johnson Research and Development and has built a research center in the historic Old Fourth Ward district of Atlanta. Lonnie picked this neighborhood because he wanted to provide access to technology to individuals that normally wouldn’t be exposed to it. Lonnie created his first robot named “Linex” in 1968, and recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the robot build. Lonnie is known for being the inventor of the famous toy the Super Soaker, which has generated more than $1 Billion in sales. Lonnie currently has two technology-development companies: Excellatron Solid State, LLC and Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (JEMS). Some of Lonnie’s amazing STEM campus at JRD which now includes an eSports Center can be seen in this video.”
– Deigratia A. Daniels
“RuPaul” Andre Charles
“RuPaul is an American actor, singer, television personality, author, model and is the most commercially successful drag queen of all time. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia at the age of 15 to study performing arts, and in 1982 made his debut on the Atlanta-based variety show “The American Music Show”. Later, he became the first spokesperson for MAC Cosmetics, raising millions of dollars for the MAC AIDS fund and became the first man to land a major cosmetics campaign. In March 2018 he was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, making him the first drag queen to be given such an award. His show RuPaul’s Drag Race which airs internationally has won multiple awards and has influenced and released many drag queens out into the wild. In 2017, RuPaul was included in the annual Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. A beautiful man/woman/human. “If you can’t love yourself how the hell are you going to love anybody else.” Long live the queen.”
– Jamie Lance
Congressman John Lewis
“Congressman John Lewis has been heralded as “the conscience of the U.S. Congress,” earning him the admiration on both sides of the aisle. Next to Martin Luther King Jr., he is one of the most courageous people that the Civil Rights Movement has ever produced, as his dedicated life mission is to protect human rights through the philosophy of nonviolent activism. Since 1960, he has been arrested more than 40 times, suffered physical attacks and injuries while organizing and participating in sit-ins, protests, boycotts, marches and other activities that primarily challenged the injustice of segregation and discriminatory voter rights. As a dedicated advocate for ethics in government, he was elected to Atlanta City Council in 1981. He was then elected to Congress as Representative of Georgia’s Fifth District, currently serving this title and role since 1986. Because of his journey of facing undue hardship standing up for civil rights in the 1960’s, to have made significant policy changes due to his strong leadership and persistence, he has rightfully earned recognition in the form of numerous awards and honorary degrees for his lifetime achievements, as well as several best-selling books of his memoirs. John Lewis has shown me that even during a time when no one seems to be on your side, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” Then, magical things can happen when you get into #goodtrouble. I’m proud to call him my representative. His birthday was recently on February 21st, turning 79 years old.”
– Jane Nguyen
Terry Crews
“Terry Crews is a modern-day renaissance man. Fit in body and mind it’s clear he puts his all in anything he’s working on. Rather than being typecast, you’ll find Terry in roles demanding comedy, drama, or a mix of both at the same time. A man of conviction he speaks out on injustice he sees it, even if it can hurt his career. His speaking out has helped other men do so, including myself and for that I look up to him.”
– Peter Stolmeier
