Days in the Life of Mo

There’s a Black woman behind your Uber ride.

Behind your “Arrive by 17:30” update.

Behind Google Maps rerouting you away from that messy traffic on the N1.

Her name is Dr. Gladys West.

And we need to talk about her. Not just because she’s brilliant, but because we don’t do enough talking about people like her.

---

Who is Dr. Gladys West?

Born in 1930s rural Virginia (yes, Jim Crow Virginia), Gladys West grew up in a world where a Black woman doing mathematics was almost unheard of, not because we couldn’t, but because the doors were locked shut.

But you know what she did? She broke down those doors.

• She got her master’s in mathematics.
• She got hired by the U.S. Navy.
• She became one of only four Black employees at the Naval Proving Ground in the 1950s, and the only Black woman.

That alone? Iconic. But Gladys wasn’t done.

---

What Did She Actually Do?

She worked on satellite data and developed complex mathematical models that would later form the foundation of what we now know as GPS.

Let me say that louder for the people in the back:

The positioning system your phone uses every single day? It exists because of her calculations.

Before AI, before Elon, before Waze gave you attitude, there was Gladys West, feeding satellite data into huge early computers, modeling the shape of the Earth with wild precision.

She literally mapped the planet so we could find the nearest petrol station.

---

Why Should We Still Talk About This?

Because too many people still don’t know that one of the most transformative technologies of our time was made possible by a Black woman. A Black woman in tech. In STEM. In maths. In government. In history.

Also: she didn’t even know she helped invent GPS until later. That’s how behind-the-scenes her genius was.

Can you imagine contributing to global infrastructure and being like, “Oh… I did that? That’s cute.”

Meanwhile, some people tweet twice and call themselves “thought leaders.”

---

What’s Your GPS Story?

Drop a comment:

Have you ever thanked your GPS for saving you from getting lost?
Do you know of any other hidden figures in tech we should be talking about more?

Let’s make the internet a little louder with the names that history keeps trying to whisper.

---

Subscribe to Mo’s blog to stay updated on my latest posts, tips, and insights for developers and tech enthusiasts. Don’t miss out—join the journey today!