On
Christmas of 2016 the film Hidden Figures was released in limited theaters domestically and then worldwide on January 6th, 2017. With a
production budget of only $25 million, as of Wednesday March 7th
Hidden Figures has grossed $195 million worldwide. Based upon the non-fiction book by Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden
Figures tells the story of African American female
mathematicians who worked at NASA in
1961. Although NASA’s first American astronaut
in orbit and two-time US senator John
Glenn is the one who became a national hero, the mathematicians who helped put
him in space, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan, were
virtually unknown until Hidden Figures revealed them to the world.
The
more that I’ve researched the back story of many national heroes, sheroes,
inventions and historical landmarks, the more I began to see this narrative of
hidden figures a fundamental part of American History and its establishment of
wealth. For example, consider how the Patent Act of 1793 and 1836 restricted enslaved blacks from
obtaining patents because we were not citizens. Because we were the property of
others, whatever we invented was also the property of the slave masters who
owned us. Although the U.S. government passed a patent law giving all American
men, including Blacks, the right to patent their inventions, the lack of
non-disclosure agreements, legal protection and basic capital to invent still
created a scenario where blacks become hidden uncompensated figures behind some
of America’s greatest heroes, sheroes,
inventions and historical landmarks. I recently had the privilege of
interviewing one of our more contemporary hidden figures by the name of Terry
Lee Hamilton; a self-taught Scientist/Inventor from Western New York who
designed the antennae and coupler interface system for Stico
Industries that resolved Homeland Security's communications issues on 9/11 and was
used during Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy and other disasters in the U.S. While
employed at a company named Nanodynamics he was also responsible for helping
design the fuel cell technology to sustain and stabilize jet propulsion packs. I had the pleasure of having Terry Lee Hamilton on Atlantis Build Talk Radio and you can check out both episodes here: Episode 41 and Episode 42.
Hamilton was born and raised in
Niagara Falls, NY and began his formal journey into science at Trott Vocational
High School in the electronics trade. I say “formal” because his earliest
memories of scientific investigation began at the age of 4 and continued through
adolescence. He recalled an experience with his father teaching him to tell the
time and him realizing a sequence in the numbers that added up to twelve. For example is one plus eleven equals twelve, two plus ten
equals twelve, three plus nine equals twelve and so on. Hamilton also shared
that he would often ask his father questions such as, “If a car is driving at
sixty miles per hour and a fly is flying around inside of the car while it’s
moving why doesn’t it hit the walls?” Once he entered high school he was able
to direct his sense of curiosity into a vocational program that often him an
opportunity to grow and develop. After graduation Hamilton continued his
education at various institutions of higher learning such as the Ohio Institute
of Technology, Niagara University, Erie Community College and the University of
Buffalo where he studied everything from electrical and mechanical engineering,
biochemistry, physics and chemistry. It was after this formal journey that
Hamilton became employed with the above tech companies where he made his
initial mark as a hidden figure. Although Stico Industries and Nanodynamics
gave him an opportunity to share his knowledge and gain experience, upon
accepting employment Hamilton signed a non-disclosure agreement similar to a
rap artist record contract where the label owns his masters. Like other hidden
figures of the past and present, his contributions to science and technology are
the property of the companies he worked for. While many would be discouraged by
this, Hamilton continued in his journey and founded Hamilton & Eades; a
genetic research and development company.
Through Hamilton
& Eades, Hamilton has developed reliable methods to analyze nutrients,
other dietary components and their metabolites in foods, body fluids and
tissues. This involves the latest tools in nano-technology, biochemistry,
physics, computer software development and electronics. Most recently, Hamilton
has developed a series of serums designed
from a molecular level for removing
wrinkles, reversing the aging process, hair growth, balding, skin rashes,
herpes 1 and 2 and shingles. In partnership with him I distribute them as the Anusha product line through my company Quanaah Herbal Accents.
Hamilton, like
many others who came before him and present today, are some of the greatest
stories never told. At a time when youth were taught by American parents that
college or the military were their only options towards living a successful
life, Hamilton chose an uncharted path by not finishing his formal college
career. Yes he experienced challenges and adversity be a self taught scientist
with experience credentials, yet he also represents the morning star of a millennial
movement that no longer views college and the military as its narrow options. With
the proliferation of technology and the expansion of the World Wide Web via
social media, now more than ever before we are seeing young people seeking entrepreneurialism,
skilled trades, professional development and company branding as a means to
control their intellectual property and creative rights. If it wasn’t for the
sacrifices and lessons learned by trailblazers like Hamilton, the paved way
that we see today would still be uncharted. If you’re interested in learning
more about the Anusha serums, you
can email me at: atlantisbuild@gmail.com.
Peace,
Saladin
