The Light She Gave Us

A Tribute to Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson and the Power of Fiber Internet

Ladies and gentlemen, today I want to tell you a story a story about light, legacy, and the brilliance of a Black woman whose mind helped shape the very way our world communicates. Before fiber‑optic lines stretched across America… Before light traveled through glass to carry our voices at breathtaking speed… Before companies like Frontier and Verizon built vast modern networks… There was a little girl in Washington, D.C., collecting honeybee's in jars, studying the patterns of nature, and discovering curiosity as her superpower. That little girl grew into **Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson a name that deserves to be spoken with honor, with reverence, with pride.

A Journey Born in Brilliance

Dr. Jackson’s parents nurtured her hunger for science, encouraging her to experiment, explore, and imagine. She rose through her studies with excellence, graduating valedictorian before stepping into a world few people who looked like her had ever entered: MIT. At MIT, she was one of only two Black women in her class isolated, underestimated, but unshakable. Through discrimination, loneliness, and relentless pressure, she persisted with purpose. And in 1973, she became the first Black woman to earn a Ph.D. from MIT.

Her achievement was not just academic—it was historic. It was a message to the world: “No barrier is high enough to stop brilliance.”

Dr. Jackson’s Groundbreaking Research After MIT, she entered the legendary AT&T Bell Laboratories, one of the most important scientific institutions in modern history. There, Dr. Jackson explored the quantum universe—studying the behavior of electrons, the optical properties of materials, and the physics that governs how signals travel and interact.

Her research laid the foundation that enabled

other scientists to create life‑changing technologies, including:

• caller ID

• call waiting

• the portable fax

• and essential groundwork for fiber‑optic communication No, she did not personally invent fiber‑optic cables a fact confirmed by reputable fact‑checkers. But let me be clear: Without the scientific breakthroughs she produced, the world of modern telecommunications the world of light‑speed data, fiber networks, and global instant connectivity—would not be what it is today. Her work didn’t just open doors in physics. It opened portals between people.

A Leader Who Shaped a Nation

Dr. Jackson continued to break barriers, becoming the first Black woman to chair the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission safeguarding the energy backbone of America. She later became President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, leading one of America’s premier research universities with unmatched vision and excellence. Her career is a constellation of scientific, academic, and national achievements a shining legacy that continues to guide future generations.

Why I Choose Fiber Internet

Ladies and gentlemen, now let me tell you why this matters to me—why choosing fiber internet is deeper than speed, deeper than streaming, deeper than technology. Fiber internet is the best form of internet ever created not just because it’s fast, not just because it’s reliable, not just because it sends information through strands of glass at nearly the speed of light. Fiber is the best because it represents the highest evolution of human communication. And when I see light traveling through those glass fibers— bringing clarity, speed, and connection to my home I see Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson. I see the girl who caught bees. I see the student who refused to quit. I see the scientist who expanded the boundaries of what we know. I see the Black woman whose brilliance helped pave the way for the very technologies that power our world today.

Every connection I make… Every video I stream… Every call that reaches a loved one across the country… is touched by her legacy. Fiber carries light. But behind that light, I see her.

Closing: The Light She Gave Us

So when I say I chose fiber internet with pride, I mean this: I chose a technology built on science that Dr. Jackson helped shape. I chose a future powered by the work of a Black woman who refused to let obstacles dim her brilliance. I chose the speed of light—because she helped the world understand how powerful light could truly be. Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson didn’t just change telecommunications. She didn’t just uplift science. She didn’t just make history.

She illuminated the world. And every time my fiber connection glows with speed, I feel her light—reaching through time, through science, through glass—reminding us that brilliance knows no boundaries, and that some legacies are written not on paper— but in photons.

Thank you.