Game Changers | Professor Jim Huntley

gamesindustry.biz:

GamesIndustry.biz Game Changers is a series of profiles on the groups and individuals going the extra mile to make the games industry a better place. These interviews encompass folks from around the world helping to improve conditions and attitudes towards diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, mental health and more. You can read more Game Changers interviews here.

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While the games industry has made progress on diversity and inclusion, it has been slow and hard fought. Breaking into the field remains challenging for people from overlooked communities.

This drove Professor Jim Huntley, USC Games, and Take-Two to launch the Gerald A. Lawson Endowment Fund in 2021.

Named after the Black engineer that designed the pioneering Fairchild Channel F console, the fund strives to increase Black and Indigenous representation in the games industry.

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, Huntley explains that the idea of the fund was sparked by the protests following the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.

"It was seeing how diverse those protests and crowds were," he explains.

"Normally, when a tragedy involves an African American person at the hands of a law enforcement officer, it's primarily an African American neighborhood protesting."

Huntley adds, "[The protests] were everywhere. You would go home and go online and see people in South Korea and Japan. Whoa, this is a moment, and it emotionally affected me.

"[Then I thought] what can I do, to put more energy into making some change in my corner of the world, which is interactive gaming entertainment?"

Huntley says that the first step to creating the fund involved speaking with his