Dr. Gladys West is a living, ninety-three year-old African legend. She made the GPS technology a reality. Relying on her research results, the Geostat satellite went into the orbit in 1984. And digital navigation was born.

For over twenty years, Gladys painstakingly created the complex algorithms that is the foundation for the GPS we use today.

Racism, that ugly social disease did not hinder or discourage her in her first twenty-five years at the Naval Surface Warfare Center where she worked all her life. That period saw her overlooked and undermined, while her non-African counterparts received accolades.

This brilliant African and her husband who she met and fell in love with at the NSWC, were two of only four Africans employed at the center for several years. She rose slowly through the ranks again because of racism.

Finally in 2018, she was inducted into the United States Airforce Hall of Fame. She has won some awards in recent times. One of them is the highest award in United kingdom, the #Prince Phillip Medal. This honour is from the #Royal Academy of Engineering in 2021.

We are so proud of her strength and resilience. Please drop a heart in the comments section below for this powerful genius.

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