By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq
A Paean to Black Innovators Despite the on-going global re-assessment Of the status of the Black Race In the aftermath of The unlawful killing Of their kin – George Floyd By American Police Few - if any - are aware Of the technical and intellectual Achievements of people Of sub-Saharan African descent Commonly called ‘blacks’ Their talent – whilst undeniably prodigious Was not merely abstract Or academic – it was, indeed, practical As it found expression In the invention of At least fifty-three Products of diverse Range and application Against the backdrop of the Now-universal mantra Of ‘Black Lives Matter’ What better time To remind ourselves Of those milestones Starting with Benjamin Banneker Who produced the First Almanac In 1791, followed, in 1819 By Joseph Dickinson Who invented the Record-player Arm And, in 1839, by Granville Woods (the Auto Cut-Off Switch) Only matched, the same year By Edmund Berger, with the Spark Plug He was followed, A quarter of a century later, In 1864, by John W. Reed With the Rolling Pin If these products Seem all-too mundane What about the Elevator? Who’d believe it was Invented by a black man? Yes, by Alexander Miles In Eighteen Sixteen Seven Nor can anyone reasonably Question the value Of a Fire Extinguisher A black man, Thomas Marshall Invented it, in 1872 The same goes for The Fire Escape Ladder - Invented in 1878 By Joseph W. Winters Needless to say, Both of these Are often the difference Between life and death Another potential lifesaver, The Stethoscope Was invented by a black man, Thomas A. Carrington in 1876 Before that, though, in 1875 Another black man – Alexander Ashbourne Invented the Biscuit Cutter Who cares, you might say But not if you love the crunchy snack Or, in the case of couch potatoes, The humble Furniture Caster They were invented by David F. Fisher In 1878, the same year That Osbourne Dorsey Invented the Door-Knob And the Door-Stop Having been beaten To the Stethoscope, Another black man, Powell Johnson, came up In 1880, with the Eye Protector Everyone acknowledges Thomas Edison as the inventor Of the light bulb Few, however, are aware That a black man, Lewis Latimer Invented its variant, The Electric Lamp Bulb In 1882 This was closely followed, in 1883 By another black man – William B. Purvis, Who invented the Hand Stamp In turn, he was followed in 1884, By three ‘compatriots’ Willie Johnson Granville T. Woods And Michael C. Harvey With the Egg-Beater, The Phone Transmitter And the Lantern, respectively As for the Tricycle Few, if any, of its users (At least in developing countries) Know that it was invented By a black man – Matthew A. Cherry, in 1886 Nor are music lovers (Especially of Western/Rock music) None-the-wiser That a black man, Robert F. Fleming, Jr., Invented the Guitar, in 1886 He was matched The following year By two blacks - Sarah Boone And James Robinson With the Ironing Board And the Lunch Pail, Respectively As for the Baby Buggy Every infant who’s ever Ridden in one Should be eternally Grateful to its black inventor William H. Richardson (in 1889) Talking of gratitude Many a writer (this one inclusive) Owes tons of it to William P. Purvis (again) For inventing the Fountain Pen In Eighteen Ninety. As was the Street Sweeper, The same year, By another black man – Charles B. Brooks With the ubiquity Of social media And electronic mail It is easy to forget That long before They became standard fare The humble Mail Box Was our sole option It was invented in 1891 By a black man - Paul L. Downing As was the Curtain Rod The following year By William R. Scrottron. His ‘kinsmen’ - Thomas W. Steard, John Thomas White And Washington A. Martin Next Followed, in 1893, With the Mop, The Lock And the Lemon Squeezer, Respectively Two black men – Frederick Loudin and Elijah McCoy Invented the Key Chain And the Lubricating Cup In 1894 & 1895 respectively. As were Peanut Butter And Curtain Rod Support By George W. Carver And William S. Grant, Respectively, in 1896 Four black men - John L. Love John H. Smith Alfred L. Cralle And Thomas Elkin – Were behind the Invention, in 1897, of The Pencil Sharpener, The Lawn Sprinkler, The Ice Cream Scoop And the Chamber Commode, Respectively Two indispensable Hair-Care tools – The Shampoo Head-rest And the Hair Brush Were invented in 1898 by A black man and a black woman: Charles Owen Bailiff And Lydia Newman, Respectively As for the Gentleman’s game It really is a shame That few golf aficionados Know that a black man – George T. Grant - Invented the Golf Tee In Eighteen Ninety-Nine As were the Auto Fishing Device, The Insect Destroyer Gun and the Folding Bed In the same year – 1899 By three black men – George Cook, Albert Richardson, And Leonard C. Bailey Respectively For some inexplicable reason The 20th Century has Witnessed relatively few Black innovators Compared to its predecessor However, what few black inventions there are Have arguably matched – if not exceeded – Those before them in all respects These include the Straightening Comb By Madam C. J. Walker, in 1905 And the Folding Chair By Nathaniel Alexander, in 1911 Followed by the Gas Mask and The Traffic Light (Both by Garrett Morgan in 1914 and 1923, respectively); The Air-Conditioning Unit (By Frederick M. Jones, in 1949) The Thermostat Control, In 1960, Again, by Frederick M. Jones; And the Clothes Dryer By George Sampson, in 1971 With the foregoing Proud heritage It is surely a mystery That the Black Race Is still perceived By many non-blacks (Particularly Caucasians) As somewhat inferior To them in all But physical prowess And yet, most, if not all Humanity profess a belief In, and trace their origin, to One fair, just, God Who does not discriminate Why then, is there a mismatch Between our precepts And our practices? That is the question. Have George Floyd Adama Traore Trayvon Martin Stephen Lawrence And scores of other black Victims of racial discrimination Died in vain? These questions can only be Answered by Statesmen And Policy-makers At all levels With the right Largeness of Spirit And broadness of mind To see beyond Our superficial, pigment-induced Physical differences Abubakar D. Sani, Esq. Abuja, Nigeria, 08034533892 22nd June 2020
