# @squarerootacademy on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CaajeO1hjPL
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/21311319-squarerootacademy-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/legacy-do/8c5ce791cbc0752da208d44f1a8b78137e8516deac7be425182a04b70568dc94.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-02-25T21:11:56.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Square Root Academy (@squarerootacademy) — https://gondola.cc/squarerootacademy

## Caption

If you’ve ever played a video game before, then you owe it to African American Electronic Engineer and Video Game Pioneer, Gerald “Jerry” Lawson! Jerry Lawson was one of the few Black engineers in Silicon Valley in the 1970s. In 1976, Lawson led a team of engineers that developed and released the first removable video game cartridges called the Fairchild Channel F. Channel F, which stood for “fun’, included the gaming world’s first digital, at-home joystick, and  first-ever “pause” button. But, it was most notable because players could switch out different video game cartridges. At the time, gaming consoles came preloaded with a set number of games. Though not a success during its release, Jerry Lawson’s idea paved the way for and was later adopted by brands like the Atari 2600, Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation. In 1980 he founded Videosoft, which made gaming software for the Atari 2600 and other developers. Likely the earliest Black-owned game development company, according to the National Museum of Play. Afterwards, Lawson spent the rest of his career consulting for gaming and tech companies, and mentoring Stanford University engineering students. Though a nearly $180 billion industry, gaming still struggles with diversity. A 2020 report from the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) found that only 2% of developers in the industry identified as Black. Jerry Lawson hoped his career could inspire other Black students to get into engineering and the gaming industry. This is done even posthumous, through his USC endowment fund supported by Microsoft and video game company Take-Two Interactive. As well as an annual IGDA award that highlights the work of minority developers in the industry. In 2019 he was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Though the average gamer may not know his name, let us celebrate the life and legacy of the game changing icon Gerald “Jerry” Lawson this Black History month! 

#Jerrylawson #Geraldlawson #Blackhistorymonth #Videogames #Pioneer #Blackengineer #Engineering #Africanamericanengineer #Sacramento #Sacramentononprofit #STEAM #STEM #steameducatio #stemeducation #electronics #electronicengineering

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## Tags

electronics, engineering, blackengineer, stem, sacramento, geraldlawson, steameducatio, videogames, jerrylawson, sacramentononprofit, electronicengineering, africanamericanengineer, pioneer, steam, stemeducation, blackhistorymonth

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