Black History Month is just the first step to celebrating the incredible impact Black Americans have made on our communities and in the workforce. To further our education, as tech staffing leaders, we explored the tech industry specifically to learn more about Black technologists and how their contributions to this space shape what we do each day. Our workday relies on tech innovation heavily, so it’s fascinating to learn about who helped us get to where we are today.

Below is a small snapshot of Black technologists who have steered modern technology, both in the past and in current times. Their contributions are invaluable to how we live and work each day.

• Dr. Mark Dean, is credited with game-changing technology during his tenure at IBM with his leadership in the development of the Personal Computer. He holds many patents for his work at IBM, and was critical to advances in color PCs, plug-n-play printer monitors and more.

• Marie Van Brittan Brown imagined the first home security system that was the prototype of what has evolved today with cameras, monitors and more.

• Lisa Gelobter sent “Shockwaves” through the internet with this new way of generating website animation and helped set the stage for online video.

• Dr. Shirley Jackson propelled modern telecommunications. An MIT doctorate grad, we have touch-tone phones, caller ID and more due to her innovations.

• Watching movies in 3D is thanks to Kenneth J. Dunkley, a Black inventor from New York whose work in holography was the foundation for the 3D glasses we use today.

This is but a small sample of the many Black technologists to learn about. We encourage you to find additional resources—we’ve included some below—to celebrate Black history this month and beyond.

• https://www.fullstackacademy.com/blog/black-pioneers-who-revolutionized-tech
• https://govcio.com/resources/article/5-tech-black-leaders/
• https://www.learnacademy.org/blog/black-tech-science-innovators
• https://www.black-inventor.com/black-inventors
• https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/feature/Black-leaders-in-technology