CEOs made magazine covers before, of course—here’s GM’s Alfred P Sloan in 1945—but the superhero-genius framing wasn’t part of it
The turn comes in the early 80s and the saving-American-capitalism narrative built around figures like Lee Iacocca — Detroit’s Comeback Kid, 1983
This also happens to be right when the computer moves in (Machine of the Year, 1983)
Ronald Reagan calls the 80s “the decade of the entrepreneur.” And guess who gets the title of Entrepreneur of the Decade, 1989?
Then comes the 90s and a tech-fueled Wall St boom that helps make bankers and Treasury secretaries superheroes, too. The Committee to Save the World, 1998
Software—and tech companies—ate the world, but they didn’t do it alone. 2011:
They act like kings because we made them kings, 2022. /end
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Popular stereotypes of Seattle--quirky left-coast outlier, nerdy high-tech hub--overlook bigger, harder truths about its past, & how this city is so much like the rest of America. Here are some sources that informed my most recent piece. THREAD: nytimes.com/2020/06/24/opi…
First and foremost is the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project, a truly remarkable digital archive of primary sources & original research essays created by my colleague Jim Gregory, cofounder @TrevorGriffey, & many @UWHist students past & present depts.washington.edu/civilr/
While this piece focused on Black Seattle, this city has always had a significant Asian American population whose experiences are critical to understanding the longer history of racial exclusion & civil rights activism. SCRLHP provides one entry point: depts.washington.edu/civilr/Asian%2…