Everything Bell Laboratories was trying had failed.
In the 1950s, engineers at Bell - the research arm of AT&T - were scratching their heads. How could they communicate over long distances without the cables falling apart or using toxic lead coating? That’s when W. Lincoln Hawkins stepped in.
Though orphaned at a young age and raised during legal segregation and discrimination, he excelled in school, getting advanced degrees in chemistry.
His excellence prompted engineers from Bell to reach out. Could he solve their problem?
Hawkins was the first, and only, Black employee at Bell. Though alienated, he persevered and focused on his work.
Soon he invented a brand new coating that was more durable than standard plastic, and both cheaper AND safer than lead. It revolutionized the industry, leading to cell and fiber technology.
His invention meant that millions of people previously cut off from the world could now get phone lines. Today it coats fiber optic cables.
But he wasn’t done.
Before he retired, Hawkins set up the Project SEED program, which supports science programs for low-income youth of color - so that one day, there will be no more alienated, “first” Black scientists.
For his resilience in the face of tragedy and oppression, innovative spirit, and love for his people and for the next generation, we remain inspired by Walter Lincoln Hawkins!