- James West co-invented a microphone that 90% of all microphones used today are based on.
- His parents were part of the Black emancipation movement, and he attended Black Panther meetings in college.
- West continues to advocate for minorities in science and develop tech that helps Black communities.
Kanye West inflamed further controversy on Thursday when he spoke about Adolf Hitler during an interview with Alex Jones. West, who was re-suspended from Twitter on Friday after tweeting an image of a swastika inside a star of David, also falsely claimed Hitler invented the microphone.
But most microphones in use today are thanks to James West, an African American inventor who has more than 250 patents to his name. The grandson of a formerly enslaved person, West also attended Black Panther meetings during college.
In 1962, West co-invented the foil electret microphone, which 90% of all microphones used today — including telephones, music recording equipment, and hearing aids — are based on. The electret microphone doesn't require a battery, and became widely used for its high performance, accuracy, low cost, and small size.
Sparking an interest in electricity
West was born on February 10, 1931 in his family's home because the whites-only local hospital would not admit Black Americans. His father, Samuel Edward, was an entrepreneur of sorts, holding a range of jobs that included a funeral home owner, an insurance salesman, and a railroad porter. West's mother, Matilda West, was a schoolteacher who taught on Native American reservations and worked for a time at the Langley Air Force Base during World War II.
Growing up, West was expected to work at his uncle's medical clinic, which served mostly the Black community.
"My father's family felt very strongly that the direction in education should be in the four professions at that time open to Black people," West told Johns Hopkins Magazine in 2003. "Lawyer, doctor, teacher, and preacher — we had all of them in the family."
But West pursued a different path, which began after he was almost electrocuted.
When West was about 10 years old, he had found an old radio discarded near his home in rural Virginia. Wanting to see if it still worked, he brought it home and reached for an electrical outlet. It was a humid day, and the outlet sent sparks rattling through his body from head to toe.
"It was terribly intriguing from a standpoint of how electricity worked," West told Johns Hopkins. "I had to learn more about that."
Becoming more immersed in Black emancipation
From a young age, West was exposed to the Black freedom movement. His grandmother was formerly enslaved, and his parents were both active in organizations that advocated for the emancipation of Black people.
"[W.E.B.] Du Bois was one of the people I learned about early in life. All of this has been part of my upbringing. It's a very important part of why I'm interested in diversity," West said in his interview with Johns Hopkins Magazine.
West's mother lost her job at the Langley Air force Base due to her involvement in the NAACP, which Joseph McCarthy decried as communist and a threat to America. She later became one of the "Hidden Figures" who were instrumental in helping NASA develop their space program.
At Temple University, where he studied physics, West read works by Leon Trotsky and began attending Black Panther meetings.
"I became more immersed in racist attitudes toward Black people." West said. "Living in Philadelphia, I saw a whole different perspective from the standpoint of poverty and the deplorable situations in which some people are forced to survive. I lost confidence in the system."
Advocating for minorities in science
West has remained devoted to uplifting minorities, values instilled in him by his family. In the 1970s, he was a member of the Association of Black Laboratories Employees at Bell Labs, where he invented the microphone, that pushed to fund research programs to help more than 500 non-white students graduate with degrees in STEM.
The inventor also pioneered groundbreaking research that helped the Black community. In the late 1980s, West and his colleagues at Cornell University and Bell Labs developed a way to more accurately read blood pressure. West said he was motivated by the fact that heart disease and hypertension rates are higher among African Americans.
West has also studied the acoustic environment of hospitals, finding that loud noise levels affect staff and patients. He has also worked on a device to detect pneumonia in lungs of young children — ultimately fulfilling, albeit in a roundabout and perhaps unintentional way, his father's wishes for his son to pursue medicine.
"It all comes back," West said. "It's all circular."
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