Stanford Archive to Highlight Black Histories of Silicon Valley

From Stanford University:

While there have been a number of extraordinary Black Americans who have helped transform Silicon Valley into a global hub of high-tech industry and innovation, their lives, stories and accomplishments have been largely absent from public record.

A new archive at Stanford Libraries hopes to change that.

Set to launch later this year, the “Histories of African Americans in Silicon Valley” will ensure that the experiences of Black Americans who lived and worked in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay area are represented in the annals of history.

Leading the effort is Harold C. Hohbach Curator Henry Lowood, who has spent more than three decades building the Silicon Valley Archives (SVA), an ongoing effort at Stanford Libraries to establish the world’s most comprehensive collection of materials that show how the Bay Area transformed into a global center of scientific and technological innovation. Including stories from Black Americans, who have been historically underrepresented in those industries and face ongoing discrimination today, is a critical part of that effort.

“We need to document the Valley in its full complexity and diversity,” said Lowood, who is also the curator for Film & Media Collections. “Our diverse community will expect diverse stories.”

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