Black in Business

Many of us don't understand the importance of being creative and innovative. We’re constantly being told what to do and how to do it from the start. Some say “do what you’re told and not what I do.” Others have said “keep your ideas to yourself, because no one cares.” I’ve heard my relatives say “don’t think, when you think, you mess up.” Have you ever heard so many negative voices? For those that are fortunate enough to have a support team, and are able to get an education they can often overcome the nonsense and move forward with their lives. For those that are less fortunate, they may get stuck in the trap of negativity listening to their should haves and could haves. While there are others that actually take the negative energy as fuel to make a difference in the world by utilizing their creativity and innovative skills. A black man named James Edward Maceo West, enhanced the voices of millions by using creative innovation to develop an electret transducer that became the industry standard used in 90 percent of all everyday microphones (Biography.com, 2021).

The work of James Edward Maceo West and his colleague Dr. Gerhard M. Sessler dramatically changed everything when they decided to set aside differences and put their brilliant minds together. The invention of the inexpensive electret microphone changed more than just how the world communicates. It contributes to how people learn, market their business, share information, inspire others, or to just simply connect to others around the world. Before the electret discovery, most microphones needed a large and costly battery to function (Mahoney, E., 2018). The electret technology evolved to being small and strong enough to be used in telephones, cell phones, audio recorders, camcorders, baby monitors, blood pressure readers, hearing aids and more.

People use this technology to entertain, learn new things, inspire others, or just connect with the world on various forms of social media. Many people have become self-made entrepreneurs with the help of the electret microphone. The microphone allows us to transmit audio with one another accurately and efficiently. It allows people to hear and transmit the correct message right, the first time.

I admire West for the time, effort and dedication that he invested into the microphone transformation as well as many other useful inventions. However, this invention has impacted my life more than any other. I am an individual with a learning disability, and also my children also struggle with difficulty learning. Reading and writing is challenging because characters jump around, and it's difficult to stay focused. The microphone has helped me overcome these challenges by allowing me to speak my message and learn by hearing versus standard reading. You see, everyone has a weakness. Learning differently doesn’t feel good at all. I felt exhausted from having to do things two or more times to learn the same material within the same timeframe. Whenever I needed to learn something new, I would watch videos, listen to audiobooks, ask questions, research, listen to converted text to speech files, and watch more videos. I learned how to endure the pain of learning with the help of a microphone. It may take me longer, but I’m still determined to get the knowledge I need to do what I need to do. Through it all, I kept the following mindset that having a weakness does not mean that you are weak. Everyone has weaknesses, but if you seek understanding, it can make you strong.

For me, reading and writing is extremely difficult and embarrassing task. Throughout the years, I have learned to live with it and I try not to let it stop me from doing whatever I have to do. Understanding my weakness made me strong. I’ve invested in recorders, reading applications and audio players to help me with my learning challenges because I understand that I learn differently. Instead of reading, I use other means to soak in new knowledge with the help of West’s evolutionary microphone. Whenever I discover I need to learn something new, I use the microphone to voice search for whatever I need. West helped enhance my voice so that I may have a chance to share it with the world.

References

Mahoney, E. (2018, Jan 27). James Edward Maceo West (1931- ). Retrieved Mar 11, 2021, from https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/west-james-edward-maceo-1931/

James West. (2021, Jan 19). Biography.com. Retrieved Mar 11, 2021, from https://www.biography.com/inventor/james-west