20 Notable Black Americans in Telecom and Technology

Benjamin Hooks was a civil rights leader, minister, and attorney who became the first Black FCC commissioner in 1972. During Hooks’ tenure, he addressed the lack of minority ownership of television and radio stations, the lack of minority employment in the broadcasting industry, and the image of Black people in the mass media. After the FCC, he became the executive director of the NAACP. He died in 2010, leaving the Hooks Institute to promote his commitment to social change. Learn more here.