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Thread: Jerry Lawson, Black Video Game Pioneer, Channel F Creator

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    Alex (Level 15) boatofcar's Avatar
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    Default Jerry Lawson, Black Video Game Pioneer, Channel F Creator

    This is an excellent interview, not just about race in electronics, but also about the development of the Channel F, something I'd never read a lot about.

    In late 2006, I received a large collection of vintage computer magazines from a friend. For days I sat on my office floor and thumbed through nearly every issue, finding page after page of priceless contemporary information. One day, while rapidly flipping through a 1983 issue of Popular Computing, I encountered a photo that stopped me dead in my tracks.

    There I discovered, among a story on a new computer business, a picture of a black man. It might seem crazy, but after reading through hundreds of issues of dozens of publications spanning four decades, it was the first time I had ever seen a photograph of a black professional in a computer magazine. Frankly, it shocked me — not because a black man was there, but because I had never noticed his absence.

    That discovery sent my mind spinning with questions, chiefly among them: Why are there so few African-Americans in the electronics industry? Honestly, I didn’t know any black engineers or scientists to ask. I tried to track down the man in the magazine, but all my leads ended up nowhere. I’d have to put the matter aside and wait for another opportunity to address the issue.

    Fast forward a few months later, and I’m standing on the showroom floor of Vintage Computer Festival 9.0. As I spend a few minutes thumbing through a vendor’s large array of cartridges for sale, I hear a voice from behind.

    “Do you have any Videosoft cartridges? Color Bar Generator?”
    The article is way too long to copy and paste--read the whole thing here.
    Last edited by boatofcar; 03-10-2009 at 11:03 PM.

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    Pac-Man (Level 10) NoahsMyBro's Avatar
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    That was a great read! Thanks!
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    Cherry (Level 1) eugenek's Avatar
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    Wow! Al Sharpton created the Fairchild Channel F?

    Seriously though, that was a good read, although I'm getting tired of every black person being asked the "How do you feel about Obama becoming president" question.
    Last edited by eugenek; 03-10-2009 at 11:05 PM.

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    Key (Level 9) chrisbid's Avatar
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    i seem to remember retro gaming radio interviewing him a couple of years ago

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    Apple (Level 5) Arasoi's Avatar
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    I enjoyed that article quite a bit. Thank you.

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    ServBot (Level 11) swlovinist's Avatar
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    Got to hear him speak at a CGE years ago. One of the best sperakers hands down, and I am glad that you shared this article with everyone. Thanks,
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    Yeah, I remember Jerry from CGE`99. Really cool guy. This linked article was great reading, though. Thanks for posting.

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    I'd like to meet the guy myself, great example for many people now a days.....I'm sure it wasn't easy,but managed to overcame the odds....Great article reading indeed....
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    Even putting the "Jerry Lawson is black" angles aside, this interview was awesome reading on its merits for these crazy dawn-of-videogames anecdotes Jerry recounts like fishing RAM modules out of another manufacturer's garbage or punching out an RCA engineer at a trade show. If Lawson is developing all of this into a book then please consider one copy already pre-sold.

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    Great Puma (Level 12) skaar's Avatar
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    Great read, thanks for sharing.

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    Great Puma (Level 12) slapdash's Avatar
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    Jerry was awesome at CGExpo. Cool interview. He's definitely an entertaining fellow to listen to!
    Russ Perry Jr, 2175 S Tonne Dr #114, Arlington Hts IL 60005
    Got any obscure game stuff?

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    Great Puma (Level 12) Steve W's Avatar
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    Jerry talked about the creation of the Channel F at CGE 2004, and the interview is right here on this very site. Although the article contradicts some things he says in this interview, oddly.

    http://www.digitpress.com/cge/2k4_mp3/

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    ServBot (Level 11) swlovinist's Avatar
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    The CGE 2004 was the one I heard in person , and frankly was one of the best interviews that year hands down. Sadly, there were very few people in the room when he spoke(less than 20). I am glad that the interview is available for others to hear and HIGHLY recommend it.
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    Terrific interview! I follow Benj Edward's blog regularly. I highly recommend it!

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    Quote Originally Posted by swlovinist View Post
    The CGE 2004 was the one I heard in person , and frankly was one of the best interviews that year hands down. Sadly, there were very few people in the room when he spoke(less than 20).
    Yeah, I remember Joe trying to recruit people to get in there as I was headed there. So worth it. It's always a bummer when people aren't interested in the obscure, but hey, just about everyone already knows Nolan Bushnell's, and even Ralph Baer's, stories, but who know Jerry's?

    It was like the Entex guy they got another year... Kind of obscure, but cool to see.
    Russ Perry Jr, 2175 S Tonne Dr #114, Arlington Hts IL 60005
    Got any obscure game stuff?

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    drowning in medals Ed Oscuro's Avatar
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    Wow, great article. I've just skimmed past the opening for now ('tis late), but I love the Batman Returns moment where he has to pull the wiring out of the mobile lab. Great stuff right there.

    Sounds like a heck of a guy; I'll have to show this to a prof I know back in B.C.

    I don't know where he's coming from on tha Woz, but I agree that Mike Markkula is one of the people who really got Apple going. Jobs was the sparkplug, as he says, and Woz was a great hardware designer, but Markkula kept a lot of stuff together (although it's been a while since I've read the book on Apple).
    Last edited by Ed Oscuro; 03-12-2009 at 10:13 PM.

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    I'll never forget Jerry's speech at CGE 2004. First I had to help him up to his seat at the podium. Then just as he began to talk, the fire alarm went to off so I had to quickly get him back down to his wheelchair so we could evacuate the building. Unfortunately, less people returned to hear Jerry talk after the fire drill.

    By the way, in this article Jerry mentions another black man in the industry named Ron Jones. Ron Jones later founded Songpro, a company that had released a peripheral that turned the Gameboy into an MP3 player. I hadn't been aware that he had died.
    Last edited by rolenta; 03-18-2009 at 07:11 PM.
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    Alex (Level 15) boatofcar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by rolenta View Post
    Ron Jones later founded Songpro, a company that had released a peripheral that turned the Gameboy into an MP3 player..
    Wow, I'd never heard of this before.



    Here's an article on Retro Thing about it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by rolenta View Post
    I'll never forget Jerry's speech at CGE 2004. First I had to help him up to his seat at the podium. Then just as he began to talk, the fire alarm went to off so I had to quickly get him back down to his wheelchair so we could evacuate the building.
    Oh good lord, I forgot all about that... Yeah, that sucked quite a bit. Just a stupid waste of time. But Jerry wasn't rattled by it, judging by his speech.
    Russ Perry Jr, 2175 S Tonne Dr #114, Arlington Hts IL 60005
    Got any obscure game stuff?

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