Roy Clay Sr., a Silicon Valley pioneer who knocked down racial barriers, dies at 95
Roy Clay Sr., a Black pioneer in the technology industry whose influence spanned nearly five decades in Silicon Valley, died Sunday. He was 95.
A hall-of-fame technologist, Clay was a key figure in the development of the personal computer and of tech giant Hewlett-Packard.
He was also credited with breaking down racial barriers in a largely white business, earning the nickname “godfather of Silicon Valley” for recruiting generations of diverse talent, including math and science graduates from historically Black colleges and universities.
"He should go down in history as one of the leading early figures that put Silicon Valley on the map," longtime technology executive Ken Coleman told USA TODAY. "He was a technical genius and an amazingly kind and generous human being − a great example of both a professional business man and a committed citizen and neighbor."
For much of his life, Clay belonged to a forgotten generation of hidden figures – Black Americans whose seminal contributions to the tech industry went largely overlooked, unlike other prominent Silicon Valley leaders whose notes, letters and papers are meticulously stored in historical archives.
