Think Black

Powerful memoir. . .Fords thought-provoking narrative tells the story of African-American pride and perseverance. Publishers Weekly (Starred) A masterful storyteller, Ford interweaves his personal story with the backdrop of the social movements unfolding at that time, providing a revealing insiders view of the tech industry. . . simultaneously informative and entertaining. . . A powerful, engrossing look at race and technology. Kirkus Review (Starred) In this thought-provoking and heartbreaking memoir, an award-winning writer tells the story of his father, John Stanley Ford, the first black software engineer at IBM, revealing how racism insidiously affected his fathers view of himself and their relationship. In 1947, Thomas J. Watson set out to find the best and brightest minds for IBM. At City College he met young accounting student John Stanley Ford and hired him to become IBMs first black software engineer. But not all of the companys white employees refused to accept a black colleague and did everything in their power to humiliate, subvert, and undermine Ford. Yet Ford would not quit. Viewing the job as the opportunity of a lifetime, he comported himself with dignity and professionalism, and relied on his community and his "street smarts" to succeed. He did not know that his hiring was meant to distract from IBMs dubious business practices, including its involvement in the Holocaust, eugenics, and apartheid. While Ford remained at IBM, it came at great emotional cost to himself and his family, especially his son Clyde. Overlooked for promotions he deserved, the embittered Ford began blaming his fate on his skin color and the notion that darker-skinned people like him were less intelligent and less capablebeliefs that painfully divided him and Clyde, who followed him to IBM two decades later. From his first day of workwith his wide-lapelled suit, bright red turtleneck, and huge afroClyde made clear he was different. Only IBM hadnt changed. As he, too, experienced the same institutional racism, Clyde began to better understand the subtle yet daring ways his father had fought back.