Play the Jerry Lawson Google Doodle? Learn more about this Black gaming pioneer in Anthony Frasier’s new audiobook, ‘Raising the Game: The Untold Story of Jerry Lawson.’
If it feels like we’ve talked at length about how just important Black people are to the video game industry, it’s only because there are still many people who need to learn this history lesson. Despite what lackluster representation may suggest, Black folks form a vital part of the culture both as players and creators. In fact, the video game industry as we know it would not exist without the groundbreaking work of African-American engineer Jerry Lawson, recently honored in an interactive Google Doodle.
You’d think a pioneer as peerless as Lawson would be as famous as Shigeru Miyamoto or Gabe Newell by now, but only recently has Jerry’s story entered into the mainstream. That’s thanks to writers, journalists, and documentarians determined to celebrate Jerry’s legacy now, since we failed to appreciate him for most of his life.
In this episode of PCMag’s video game show, The Pop-OffThe Pop-Off, author Anthony Frasier joins us to talk about his new audiobook, Raising the Game, which sheds light on Lawson’s untold story. Watch the interview or read the transcript below (edited for clarity).
Jordan Minor: So, first just give us a little background on who you are and what you do?
Anthony Frasier: I am the CEO of ABF Creative. We are a multicultural podcast network and production company. So, we like to use data-driven approaches and production to make podcasts for ourselves, but then also for some of your favorite brands.Left: Jerry Lawson’s son Anderson Lawson.
Right: Anthony Frasier.
JM: We’re here to talk about your recently released audiobook, Raising the Game: The Untold Story of Jerry LawsonRaising the Game: The Untold Story of Jerry Lawson. The untold story is that Jerry Lawson is this engineer, this hidden figure, this founding father of video games, and he is an African-American. He’s a Black guy. Now that some people know about him and his contributions to this industry, you’ve created this awesome audiobook explaining who he is to even more people. What inspired you to pursue this project?
AF: In 2011, I actually traveled to Silicon Valley. My first day there, I saw a flyer on the ground for a memorial service honoring the late Jerry Lawson. I said, wait, who’s this? I just dug deep. He’s the inventor of the video game cartridge. And that stuck with me. I actually ended up going to that memorial service and learning so much about him.
Then I went home and did more research. I saw that there was this big debate over whether or not he invented the video game cartridge. It was just always this big question mark on who really invented it.
Who was Jerry Lawson? I saw that there were a lot of people from that same era who became huge and had all these different accolades. But for some reason his story kind of faded to the back. It’s ironic that he is the only Black man who was part of all of this, too. That really inspired me to dig deep and find out. The audiobook is really a kickoff that challenges anyone else to go out and find more on him. I see it as the beginning of something much bigger.
JM: You mentioned that when you first heard about him, and first started researching, it was the year that he died, unfortunately. In recent years, there’s been this renewed interest in him, but we have to rely on secondary sources. We can’t interview him, but you were able to talk to his two adult children. What was their reaction when you approached them and told them that you want to do this project?
AF: They were very open [and] honored that I wanted to tell their father’s story. There were a lot of people reaching out to them, and my pitch to them was like, “Hey, I want to do the most anyone has done.” Then hopefully that inspires more people to do more after me.
I remember Netflix [High Score] came out with something, and it was like a nice 15-minute, 13-minute segment, but it wasn’t digging really deep. I really wanted to talk to not just his children, but even more people. I really wanted to know this man and his career. Just from that alone, they were very receptive.
JM: I listened to the whole thing. I loved it. But I’m curious about something. There are just so many fascinating little bits and asides, how you talk to these other retired and older executives in the games industry who worked with Jerry in the past.
