Gerald “Jerry” Lawson, a groundbreaking Black engineer in Silicon Valley, reshaped the gaming landscape with his ingenious work at Fairchild Camera and Instrument in the 1970s.
As Director of Engineering and Marketing, Lawson spearheaded the development of the Fairchild Channel F system, the first home video game console featuring interchangeable game cartridges and an eight-way digital joystick. Often hailed as the “father of modern gaming,” Lawson’s innovation laid the groundwork for iconic consoles like Atari and SNES.
In 1980, Lawson founded VideoSoft, a pioneering Black-owned video game development company. Lawson continued to contribute to the gaming industry until his passing on April 9th, 2011, leaving an enduring mark on the evolution of video games.
Recognized for his groundbreaking work on the video game cartridge, the University of Southern California established the Gerald A. Lawson Fund, dedicated to supporting underrepresented students pursuing degrees in game design and computer science.
Reporting for WGRT – Choze Powell
