We’re honoring the Black pioneers & innovators—past & present—that have played critical roles in shaping the markets we serve.
Across Aerospace, Digital Identity & Security, Transportation, Defense and Space, Black people have made significant contributions, often despite overwhelming adversity.
Learn more about some of the inspiring people that have paved the way for innovation across our markets.
Granville Woods
Granville Woods was an American inventor from Columbus, Ohio. In 1887, he invented a telegraph system that communicated between trains and tower telegraphers to advise the distance between moving trains. His invention helped set the groundwork for modern day signaling technologies.
Mae C. Jemison
Mae C. Jemison is an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut from Decatur, Alabama. She was the 1st Black woman to travel into space, serving as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1992.
Mylène Tassy
A VP of sales, marketing, and business development for Thales Canada Avionics, Mylène is trailblazing a path for women of color in aviation—driving innovation in several emerging markets including business jets, on-demand mobility, and more.
Dr. Shirley Jackson
Dr. Shirley Jackson was the 1st Black woman to earn a doctorate in nuclear physics at MIT. Her experiments with theoretical physics paved the way for numerous telecommunication developments including the touch-tone telephone, the portable fax, caller ID, call waiting, and the fiber-optic cable.
Major Stephen Blizzard
After migrating to Canada in 1958, Major Blizzard was the only Black person to serve as a Canadian Armed Forces jet pilot and flight surgeon simultaneously. Throughout his long and varied career in the Canadian military, he was a trailblazer both in the air and in medicine, making important contributions to aviation medicine in both the military and civil fields.
Elijah McCoy
McCoy invented an automatic engine oiling device in 1872 that revolutionized steam train technology, greatly increasing rail travel efficiency. Born in Ontario, Canada, McCoy trained as an engineer in Scotland and took a job working for a railroad, where he invented his lubrication device. It was so popular that it was imitated by many, but his own version was so much more effective that for many railroads, only the “real McCoy” would do – coining the well-known phrase.
Tarrance Freeman
Officer Tarrance Freeman of Windsor, Ontario, was the 1st Black pilot to be commissioned in the Royal Canadian Air Force on July 9, 1943. Freeman is believed to be the first Black Canadian navigator in the RCAF.
Lloyd Austin
Lloyd Austin, a retired four-star Army general, was confirmed the 1st Black United States Secretary of Defense in January 2020. Austin served more than 40 years in the Army, and headed U.S. Central Command, the Pentagon’s key post leading military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. He served as commander of the theater from 2013 to 2016, making him the first Black general to hold that post.
Tara Dillon Wright and Mallory Cave
Tara and Mallory made history as the 1st Black female pilots to fly for Alaska Airlines in 2018. During the flight, Captain Tara Wight announced to all aboard Flight 361 that Wright and first officer Mallory Cave would be the airline’s first-ever Black female flight crew.