The forgotten African American innovators of educational technology: stories of education, technology, and civil rights

Abstract

The history of educational technology is replete with stories of mostly White men who have conducted some of the leading innovations in the field. The stories of educational technologists from minority backgrounds have largely gone untold, perhaps giving the false impression that such individuals were not involved in this field. This article recounts the stories of several leading African American innovators. These individuals did cutting-edge work and worked with well-known researchers from the 1960s to the present day, but their work has largely gone unnoticed by educational technology researchers and developers. These narratives provoke us to reconsider the meaning, scope, and purpose of educational technology as they collectively describe how the desire of a few individuals to use technology to educate and empower the underserved was intertwined with the African American struggle for civil rights.