"Powerful memoir. . .Ford's thought-provoking narrative tells the story
of African-American pride and perseverance."
-Publisher's Weekly (Starred)
"A masterful storyteller, Ford interweaves his personal story with the
backdrop of the social movements unfolding at that time, providing a
revealing insider's 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
father's 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 IBM's first black software engineer. But
not all of the company's 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 IBM's 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 capable--beliefs that painfully divided him and Clyde, who
followed him to IBM two decades later.
From his first day of work--with his wide-lapelled suit, bright red
turtleneck, and huge afro--Clyde made clear he was different. Only IBM
hadn't changed. As he, too, experienced the same institutional racism,
Clyde began to better understand the subtle yet daring ways his father
had fought back.
