9781422283240

Chapter 1

Roy Clay, Sr.

Born: 1929 Nationality: American Achievements: Hall of Fame inventor who developed the first Hewlett-Packard microcomputer; later founder of his own electronics company

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ilicon Valley technology pioneer Roy Clay, Sr., was a key figure in Hewlett-Packard’s early ven- tures into computers and is now

the respected CEO of his own tech company. Still, he has never forgotten his roots in the all-black town of Kinloch, Missouri, not far from Ferguson, where unarmed black teen- ager Michael Brown was shot and killed by police in August of 2014. In the wake of that tragic incident, Clay wrote in the Mercury News , “It says a great deal that young Mr. Brown will not have the opportunity I had to attend college, build a career and raise a family. Hopefully, my story will help explain why that makes us all the poorer.” Clay was born in 1929 in Kinloch, and while his home had no indoor plumbing, and luxuries were few, he enjoyed the love of his close-knit family and the encourage-

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