12 year old enslaved boy, Edmond Albius, invented the technique that made the vanilla industry possible. He revolutionized the cultivation of vanilla.
He made it possible for us to enjoy treats like Vanilla Ice Cream!
George Crum invented the Potato chips. Thanks to him, our mindless television watching became a bit more delicious!
Lonnie Johnson, NASA engineer, invented the Super Soaker. He made your childhood hot summers fun!
George Washington Carver overcame slavery to achieve fame as a scientist, botanist, and educator. He invented over 300 uses for peanuts and he’s responsible for much more. He's credited for the idea of crop rotation to improve soil health.
Unlike other agricultural researchers of his time, Dr. Carver saw the need to devise practical farming methods. He wanted to coax farmers away from cotton to soil-enhancing, protein-rich crops as soybeans and peanuts.
Dr. Patricia Era Bath, 1981. Inventor of the Laserphaco Probe, used worldwide in eye surgery to remove cataracts. Bath founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness.
She restored sight to millions of people suffering from cataracts.
For all those who love baking, but want the task to be made easy as possible. Anna M. Mangin foresaw your needs. She invented the pastry fork in 1891!
Mary Beatrice Kenner changed the world of feminine care with the invention of the sanitary belt, the forerunner of sanitary pads.
Her creation was considered to be the first form of modern menstruation protection.
Joseph H. Smith invented the Lawn sprinkler.
Through his invention he saved ya'll many hours dragging long hoses across enormous lawns.
Garrett T Morgan invented the Gas Mask. His invention saved countless lives.
He also invented the improved traffic lights, sewing machine and, hair-straightening product.
Richard Spikes patented the improved automatic gear shift and the automatic brake system and the turn signal for you all to Drive Safely!
He also patented a beer-tapper thats used on keg barrels.
Thomas Edison lightbulb was too hot and had a short lifespan and wasn’t efficient for homes and businesses. Lewis Latimer invented the brighter and efficient lightbulb.
Factually, a black man took the world out of darkness. Your perception of reality is white deception.
John Albert Burr invented the modified lawnmower as we know today. Though he did not invent the very first lawnmower.
In 1899, he patented an improved rotary blade lawn mower. He designed a lawn mower with traction wheels and a rotary blade that was designed to not easily get…
…plugged up from lawn clippings. John Albert Burr also improved the design of lawn mowers by making it possible to mow closer to building and wall edges. He was issued U.S. patent 624,749.
The first home security system and CCTV was invented by a black nurse, Marie Van Brittan Brown.
Thanks to her, we can all feel safer in our homes.
Thomas Jennings becomes the first black to receive a patent for his invention. He invented a dry-cleaning process called 'dry scouring', a forerunner of today’s dry-cleaning process.
Otis Frank Boykin invented many devices. One being the control unit for the heart pacemaker. Responsible for saving millions of lives daily. #BlackHistoryMonth
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Job Maseko, a WW2 hero, sank a NAZI ship with a bomb made from a tin can with condensed milk. He was denied the highest military decoration, due to his race.
A THREAD!
Maseko was working as a delivery driver when he volunteered for service in the South African Native Military Corps during WWII (NMC). Later he was sent to the 2nd South African Infantry Division after finishing basic training in North Africa.
Due to South African race regulations at the time, they were unable to carry firearms. They were only allowed traditional weapons such as spears for guard and ceremonial duty.
On this day in 1790, Jean Baptist Pointe Desable founded the city of Chicago.
A THREAD
Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable was born in Saint-Domingue, Haiti (French colony at the time) during the Haitian Revolution. At some point he settled in the part of North America that is now known as the city of Chicago and was described in historical documents as "a handsome negro"
He married a Native American woman, Kitiwaha, and they had two children. In 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, he was arrested by the British on suspicion of being an American Patriot sympathizer.
On this day in 1921, The Tulsa Race Massacre happened in the affluent black community of Greenwood in Tulsa (Black Wall Street)
White supremacists killed more than 300 Black Americans and looted & burned to ground homes & businesses.
History of Tulsa before the riot
A THREAD
Ottawa W. Gurley created the Black Wall Street, the affluent black community in Greenwood in Tulsa.
Ottowa Gurley was born in 1868 to freed slaves in Huntsville, Alabama, Gurley grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He was self-educated and eventually married his childhood sweetheart, Emma. After a brief time as a teacher, he worked at U.S. Postal Service.
In 1969, the Black Panthers launched free breakfast programs across the US, feeding thousands of kids before school. The FBI called it a threat. In some cities, police raided kitchens, smashed food, and urinated on supplies to shut them down.
A THREAD
In January 1969, the Black Panther Party launched their Free Breakfast for Children Program, their first and most notable community effort, to feed kids who went to school hungry due to poverty. It was radical care in action. But the FBI called it a threat.
The Black Panthers, founded in 1966, built programs to tackle systemic issues like poverty and hunger. The Free Breakfast Program was a direct response to families unable to feed their kids before school. It aimed to nourish bodies and minds for learning.
Founded in 1964, The Deacons for Defense & Justice was an armed Black self defense group who stood up against the KKK & discriminatory treatment by police in the Jim Crow South
Though they supported the values of MLK, they didn’t subscribe to his nonviolent philosophy
A THREAD
On July 10, 1964, a group of black men in Jonesboro, Louisiana led by Earnest “Chilly Willy” Thomas and Frederick Douglas Kirkpatrick founded the group known as The Deacons for Defense and Justice.
As the black leaders began to rise to the occasion in the Deep South, conflict was sure to come knocking. The deacons provided security for black leaders all over the south. They worked closes with king though he preached non violence.
On this day in 1920, The Elaine Race Massacre inquiry began, addressing the killing of 200+ Black sharecroppers. A blood-thirsty gang of white soldiers led the deadliest massacre in U.S. history in 1919.
-The Elaine Massacre-
A THREAD
On September 30, 1919, Black sharecroppers gathered at a church in Hoop Spur, near Elaine, led by Robert L. Hill of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union. They sought better cotton payments from white plantation owners who dominated during the Jim Crow era.
Tensions were high and they had posted guards at the church door. When two deputized white men and a black trustee pulled into view and shots fired. One of the white men was killed, the other wounded.