What If There Were No Black Folk?
This is a story of a little boy named Theo, who woke up one morning and asked Mom
"What if there were no black people in the world?"
Well, Mom thought about that for a moment and then said, "Son, follow me around
today and let's just see what it would be like if there were no black people in the world.
Get dressed and we will get started."
Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. But there were no shoes, and his
clothes were all wrinkled. He looked for the iron, but when reached for the ironing
board, it was no longer there. You see Sarah Boone, a Black woman, invented the
ironing board and Jan E. Matzelinger, a Black man invented the shoe lasting machine.
"Oh well", Mom said, "Go and do your hair." Theo ran in his room to comb his hair, but
the comb was not there. You see, Walter Sammons, a Black man, invented the comb.
Theo decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone You see Lydia O. Newman,
a Black female invented the brush.
Well, he was a sight, no shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess without the hair care
inventions of Madam C. J. Walker, ...well, you get the picture. Mom told Theo,
"Lets do the chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store."
Theo's job was to sweep the floor. He swept and swept and swept. When he reached
for the dustpan, it was not there. You see LIoyd P. Ray, a Black man, invented the
dustpan. So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. He then
decided to mop the floor, but the mop was gone. You see, Thomas W. Stewart, a
Black man, invented the mop.
Theo thought to himself, "I'm not having any luck." "Well, son," Mom said. "We should
wash the clothes and prepare a list for the grocery store. When he was finished, Theo
went to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there. You see, George T. Samon,
a Black man, invented the clothes dryer. Theo got a pencil and some paper to prepare
the list for the market, but noticed that the pencil lead was broken as well, he was out
of luck because John Love, a Black man, invented the pencil sharpener. He reached
for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, a Black man, invented the
fountain pen. As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge invented the type writing machine, and
W. A. Lavette, the printing press.
So they decided to head out to the market. Well, when Theo opened the door, he
noticed the grass was as high as he was tall. You see the lawnmower was invented
by John Burr, a Black man.
They made their way over to the car and found that it just wouldn't go. You see Robert
Spikes, a Black man, invented the automatic gear shift and Joseph Gammel invented
the supercharge system for internal combustion engines.
They noticed that the few cars that were moving were running into each other and
having wrecks because there were no traffic signals. You see, Garrett A. Morgan,
a Black man, invented the traffic light.
Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their groceries and returned
home. Just when they were about to put away the milk, eggs and butter, they noticed
the refrigerator was gone. You see, John Standard, a Black man, invented the
refrigerator. So they put the food on the counter.
By this time, they noticed it was getting mighty cold. Theo went to turn up the heat and
what do you know, it was not there. You see, Alive Parker, a Black female,
invented the heating furnace. Even in the summer time they would have been out
of luck, because Frederick Jones, a Black man, invented the air conditioner.
It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home. He usually took the bus, but there
was no bus because its precursor was the electric trolley, invented by another Black
man, Elbert T. Robinson. He usually took the elevator from his office on the 20th floor,
but there was no elevator because Alexander Miles, A Black man, invented the elevator.
He usually dropped off the office mail at a nearby mailbox, but it no longer was there
because Phillip Downing, a Black man, invented the letter drop mailbox and William
Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine.
Theo sat at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. When his father arrived he
asked, "Why are you sitting in the dark?" Why?? Because Lewis Howard Latimer,
a Black man, invented the filament within the light bulb.
Theo quickly learned what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world.
Not to mention if he were ever sick and needed blood. Charles Drew, a Black scientist,
found a way to preserve and store blood, which led to his starting the world's first blood
bank.
And what if a family member had to have heart surgery. This would not have been
possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black doctor, who performed first open
heart surgery.
So if you ever wonder, like Theo, where we would be without Blacks? Well, it's pretty
plain to see, we could very well still be in the dark!!!
Barbara Leahy 1998
Ancient Black Inventors
INVENTOR INVENTIONS DATES
Africans Civilization 10 000 BC or Earlier
Africans Democracy
Africans Chess
Africans Alphabet
Africans Petroleum:- petroleum was used by Kemetians(Africans) as bitume and combustile. Petroleum was found in the mummies.The extraction and production of oil required a high knownledge of geology,mathematiques,chimistry... 3000-4000 BC
Africans Writing(hieroglyphics) Mdw Ntr 2613-2494 BC
Africans Maths and Engineering 2613-2494 BC
Africans Paper (made from Papyrus)
Africans Boats (made from Papyrus)
Africans Pyramids 800 BC and Earlier
Africans Calendars: Solar, Lunar, Astrological, ect. (360 days/12 months
Africans Domestication of Animals
Africans Art and Literature, Philosophy and Spiritual Sytems
Africans Mining (Gold, Tin, Copper, Iron and other metals)
Imhotep Father of Scientific Medecine 2613-2494 BC
Akhenaten Belief in one God
Africans Stone Achitecture 2613-2494 BC
Africans Sytem of Higher Education :Universities (Timbuktu) 2 - 6 AD
Africans Agriculture
Africans Labor and Economics
Kemetic (African) Scholars Established such principles and concepts as the Mind/Soul/Spirit, spiritual transformation, life and death, resurrection and after-life, Ancestralhood, immortality, creation, universal order, ideas, will, thought, speech, memory, learning, human development, justice, morality, human nature, self-consciousness, unconscious or subconscious, and many others, long before the Greeks were known to exist in human history
Contemporary Black Inventors
1 A.P. Abourne Refining of coconut oil. July 27, 1980
2 A. B. Blackburn Spring seat for chairs. Patent# 380,420 April 3, 1888
3 A.C. Richardson Casket-Lowering Device. Patent# 529,311 November 13, 1894
4 A.C. Richardson Churn. Patent # 466,470 February 17, 1891
5 A.E. Long and A.A. Jones-- Caps For Bottles And Jars 1898
6 A.L. Lewis Window Cleaner 1892
7 A.L. Rickman Galoshes 1898
8 Anna M. Mangin Pastry fork March 1, 1892
9 Alexander P. Ashbourne Biscuit Cutter November, 1875
10 Alexander Miles Elevator and also safety device for elevators. Patent No. 371,207 October11, 1887
11 Alfred L. Cralle Ice Cream Scooper. Patent # 576,395 February 2,1897
12 Alice Parker Heating Furnace 1918
13 Andrew Beard Automatic Car Coupling Device 1897
14 Augustus Jackson Ice cream 1832
15 B. F. Cargill Invalid cot. Patent# 629,658 July 25, 1899
16 B.F. Jackson Gas Burner
17 Benjamin Banneker Clock, Prints for Wash. DC 1st Almanac
18 Bessie V. Griffin Portable Receptacle 1951
19 C.B. Brook Street Sweeper 1896
20 C.V. Richey Fire Escape Bracket. Patent # 596,427 December 28, 1897
21 C. W. Allen Self Leveling table. Patent # 613,436 November 1, 1898
22 D. McCree Portable Fire Escape. Patent # 440,322 November 11, 1890
23 Darryl Thomas Cattle Roping Apparatus
24 Dr. Charles Drew Invented Blood Banks And Established Them Around The World 1940
25 Dr. Daniel Hale Williams Performed First Open Heart Surgery 1893
26 Edmond Berger Spark Plug
27 Elbert R. Robinson Electric Railway Trolley
28 Ellen Elgin Clothes Wringer 1880s
29 Elijah Mccoy Automatic Lubrication System (For Railroad And Heavy Machinery) 1892 July 2, 1872
30 Folarin Sosan Package-Park (Solves Package Delivery Dilemma) www.maita.com 1997
31 Frederick Jones Ticket Dispensing Machine. Patent # 2163754 June 27, 1939
32 Frederick Jones Starter Generator. Patent # 2475842 July 12, 1949
33 Frederick Jones Two-Cycle gasoline Engine. Patent # 2523273 November 28, 1950
34 Frederick Jones Air Condition. Patent # 2475841 July 12, 1949
35 Frederick Jones Portable X-Ray Machine
36 G.W. Murray Cultivator and Marker. Patent # 517,961 April 10, 1894
37 G.W. Murray Combined Furrow Opener and Stalk-Knocker. Patent # 517,960 April 10, 1894
38 G.W. Murray Fertilizer Distributor. Patent# 520,889 June 5, 1894
39 G.W. Murray Cotton Chopper. Patent # 520,888 June 5, 1894
40 G.W. Murray Planter. Patent # 520,887 June 5, 1894
41 G. F. Grant Golf Tee. Patent # 638,920 December 12, 1899
42 G.T. Sampson Clothes Drier 1892
43 G.W. Kelley Steam Table 1897
44 Garret A. Morgan Gas Mask (Saved Many Lives During WWI) 1914
45 George Alcorn Fabrication of spectrometer. Patent # 4,618,380 October 21, 1986
46 George Tolivar Ship's propeller
47 George Washington Carver Peanut Butter 1900
48 George Washington Carver 300 products from peanuts, 118 products from the sweet potato and 75 from the pecan. 1900-1943
49 Garret A. Morgan Automatic Traffic Signal 1923
50 Gertrude E. Downing and William Desjardin Corner Cleaner Attachment.
Patent # 3,715,772 February 13, 1973
51 Granville Woods Telephone (His Telephone Was Far Superior To Alexander Graham Bell's) Dec. 2,1884
52 Granville Woods Trolley Car 1888
53 Granville Woods Multiplex Telegraph System (Allowed Messages To Be Sent And Received From Moving Trains) 1887
54 Granville Woods Railway Air Brakes (The First Safe Method Of Stopping Trains) 1903
55 Granville Woods Steam Boiler/Radiator 1884
56 Granville Woods-- Third Rail (Subway)
57 H. Grenon Razor Stropping Device. Patent # 554,867 February 18, 1896
58 H.H. Reynolds Window Ventilator for Railroad Cars.
Patent No.275,271 April 3, 1883
59 H.A. Jackson Kitchen Table
60 Henry Blair Mechanical Seed Planter 1830
61 Henry Blair Mechanical Corn Harvester
62 Henry Single Patented an Improved Fish Hook. He sold it later for $625. 1854
63 Henry Sampson Cellular Phone July 6th, 1971
64 I.O. Carter Nursery Chair 1960
65 Issac R. Johnson Bicycle Frame
66 J. A. Joyce Ore Bucket. Patent # 603,143 April 26, 1898
67 J. Hawkins Patented the Gridiron March 3, 1845
68 J. Gregory Motor
69 J.A. Sweeting Cigarette Roller 1897
70 J.B. Winters Fire Escape Ladder
71 J. H. Hunter Portable Weighing Scales. Patent # 570,533 November 3, 1896
72 J.F. Pickering Air Ship 1892
73 J. H. Robinson Lifesaving guards for Street Cars. Patent# 623,929 April 25, 1899
74 J. Robinson Dinner Pail. Patent# 356,852 February 1, 1887
75 J. W. Reed Dough Kneader and Roller. Patents# 304,552 September 2, 1884
76 J. Ross Bailing Press. Patent # 632,539 Sept 05, 1899
77 J.H. White Convertible Sette (A Large Sofa) 1892
78 J.H. White Lemon Squeezer 1896
79 J.L. Love Pencil Sharpener. Patent # 594,114 23 November 1897
80 J.S. Smith Lawn Sprinkler. Patent # 581,785 May 4, 1897
81 James Forten Sailing Apparatus 1850
82 James S. Adams Airplane Propelling
83 Jan Matzelinger Automatic Shoe Making Machine 1883
84 Joan Clark Medicine Tray 1987
85 John A. Johnson Wrench
86 John Burr Lawn Mower
87 John Parker "Parker Pulverizer" Follower-Screw for Tobacco Presses. Patent# 304,552 September 2, 1884
88 John Standard Refrigerator. Patent# 304,552 Jul 14,1894
89 Joseph Gammel Supercharge System for Internal Combustion Engine
90 Joseph N. Jackson Programmable Remote Control
91 L.C. Bailey Folding Bed 1899
92 L. Bell Locomotive smoke stack. Patent# 115,153 May 23, 1871
93 L. F. Brown Bridle bit. Patent # 484,994 October 25, 1892
94 L.S. Burridge And N.R. Marsham Typewriter 1885
95 Lewis Howard Latimer Light Bulb Filament
96 Lewis Temple Toggle Harpoon (Revolutionized The Whaling Industry) 1848
97 Lloyd A. Hall Chemical compound to preserve meat
98 Lloyd P. Ray Dust Pan
99 Lydia Holmes Wood Toys. Patent # 2,529,692 November 14, 1950
100 Lydia O. Newman Hair brush
101 M.C. Harney Lantern/Lamp Aug.19, 1884
102 Madam. C. Walker Hair Care Products 1905
103 Majorie Joyner Permanent hair wave machine. Patent # 1693515 November 27, 1928
104 Madeline M. Turner The Fruit Press 1916
105 Marie V. Brittan Brown Security System. Patent # 3,482,037 December 2, 1969
106 Manley West Discovered compound in canibis to cure glaucoma. 1980-1987
107 Norbett Rillieux Sugar Refining System 1846
108 O.B. Clare Rail Tresle. Patent# 390,753 October 9, 1888
109 O. E. Brown Horse Shoe 8/23/1892
110 Onesimus Small Pox Inoculation (He Brought This Method From Africa Where Advance Medical Practices Were In Use Long Before Europeans Had Any Medical Knowledge) 1721
111 Otis F. Boykin Wire Type Precision Resistor.
Patent # U.S. 2,891,227 June 16, 1959
112 Paul E Williams Helicopter
113 Peter Walker Machine for Cleaning Seed Cotton
114 Phillip Downing Letter Drop Mailbox. Patent # 462,096 October 27, 1891
115 Philip Emeagwali Accurate Weather Forecasting 1990
116 Philip Emeagwali Hyperball Computer April 1996
117 Philip Emeagwali Improved Petroleum Recovery 1990
118 Philip Emeagwali World's Fastest Computer 1989
119 R.A. Butler Train alarm. Patent #157,370 June 15, 1897
120 R.P. Scott Corn Silker 1894
121 Richard Spikes Automatic Gear Shift
122 Robert Flemming Jr. Guitar March 3, 1886
123 S. H. Love Improvement to military guns. Patent # 1301143. 22 April 1919
124 S. H. Love Improve Vending Machine. Patent # 1936515 November 21, 1933
125 Sara E. Goode Cabinet Bed 1885
126 Rufus Stokes Patent #3,378,241 Exhaust Purifier April 16, 1968
127 Sarah Boone Ironing Board April 26, 1892
128 T. Elkins Toilet 1897
129 T. J. Byrd Rail car coupling . Patent# 157,370 December 1, 1874
130 Thomas Carrington Range Oven 1876
131 Thomas J.Martin Patented the Fire Extinguisher March 26, 1872
132 Thomas W. Stewart Mop 1893
133 Virgie M. Ammons Fireplace Damper Actuating Tool. Patent # 3,908,633 September 30, 1975
134 W. A. Lovette The Advance Printing Press
135 W. F. Burr Railway Switching device . Patent # 636,197 Oct.31,1899
136 W. H. Ballow Combined hatrack and table. Patent # 601,422 March 29, 1898
137 W.S. Campbell Self-setting animal trap. Patent# 246,369 August 30, 1881
138 W. Johnson Egg Beater 1884
139 W.B. Purvis The Fountain Pen Patent# 419,065 Jan 7,1890
140 W.D. Davis Riding Saddles October 6, 1895
141 W.H. Sammons Hot Comb 1920
142 W.S. Grant Curtain Rod Support 1896
143 William Barry Postmarking and Canceling machine
144 Wm. Harwell Attachment for shuttle arm; device used to capture satellites
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