Growing up Black in Pittsylvania County, Robinson attended a segregated Southside Elementary School through fourth grade. His parents were tobacco sharecroppers.
As both inspiration and impetus, and in celebration of Black History Month this February, we delved into the archives to shine a light on some key Black tech pioneers who may have been overlooked by history.
Roy Clay
Any history of Black contributions to the field of computer science has to include Roy L. Clay, Sr., the founder and former CEO of ROD-L Electronics, a manufacturer of electrical safety testing equipment.
Before founding ROD-L, Clay was a programmer. He started his career in 1956 programming IBM and Burroughs computers for McDonnell Aircraft. In 1958, he moved to what is now known as the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, operated by UC Berkeley for the US Department of Energy. Clay went on to develop software languages for Control Data mainframe computers, before joining Hewlett-Packard as the lead developer for the HP 2116A minicomputer and later as part of its research and development department.