As Black History month comes to an end, Black Americans across these United States have endeavored to celebrate the important contributions of Black people. But, as important as their contributions have been to the world, unfortunately many of these creative men and women have not been chronicled in school history books. Therefore, it is my intention to enlighten readers with this story (Author unknown) which incorporates several of the unsung inventors of the Black race.
There was a little boy whose name was Theo. He awakened one morning and asked his mother, "Mom, what if there were no black people in the world?" His mother thought for a moment and said, "Go get dressed and follow me around today; let's see what it would be like if there were no black people in this world". Theo ran to his room to get dressed. When he came back, his mother said that his clothes were wrinkled and needed to be ironed. But when she reached for the ironing board it wasn't there. You see Sarah Boone (A Black woman) invented the ironing board. Theo had no shoes on because Jan E. Matzelinger (A Black man) invented the shoe lasting machine.
Mom then told Theo to go comb his hair, but he couldn't find a comb. You see Walter Sammons (A Black man) invented the comb. So Theo decided to brush his hair instead but the brush was also gone. That's because Lydia O. Newman (A Black woman) invented the brush. You can just about guess that Theo looked a sight (no shoes, wrinkled clothes and his hair was a mess!).
Oh, well said mom, "Let's do our chores around the house before we go to the grocery store". Theo had to sweep the floor but when he reached for the dustpan, it wasn't there because Lloyd P. Ray (A Black man) invented the dustpan. So Theo swept the dirt in a pile over in a corner and left it there. He then decided to mop the floor but there was no mop. You see, Thomas W. Stewart (A Black man) invented the mop. While Theo struggled to complete his chores, mom was doing the laundry. When she attempted to place the damp clothes from the washer to the dryer, it wasn't there because George T. Samon (A Black man) invented the clothes dryer.
Frustrated, mom asked Theo to get paper/pencil so she could write a grocery list before heading to the market. Theo found a pencil but the lead was broken and there was no pencil sharpener on the desk because John Love (A Black man) invented the pencil sharpener. Mom decided to grab a pen but it wasn't in the drawer because William Purvis (A Black man) invented the fountain pen. As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge (A Black man) invented the type writing machine, and W. A. Lovette (A Black man) invented the advanced printing press. Visibly upset, mom said, "don't worry about it Theo, let's go!" They stepped out of the front door and she noticed that the grass was as tall as her son. That's because the lawn mower was invented by John Burr (A Black man).
They got into the car but couldn't go anywhere because Richard Spikes (A Black man) invented the automatic gearshift and Joseph Gammel invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines. Since it was getting late, they decided to walk to the neighborhood store. Upon returning home they began to put away the milk, eggs & butter but the refrigerator had disappeared. You see, John Standard (A Black man) invented the refrigerator. So they left the food on the kitchen counter.
By now, the temperature started to drop; it was getting cold. Mom went to turn on the heat but couldn't because Alice Parker (A Black woman) 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 come home from work. On the way out of his 20th floor office he usually takes the elevator, but it was missing because Alexander Miles (A Black man) invented the elevator. And routinely he drops off the office mail at a nearby mailbox but it was no longer there because Philip Downing (A Black man) invented the letter drop mailbox and William Barry (A Black man) invented the postmarking and canceling machine.
Upon arriving home, Theo's dad found him and his mother sitting at the kitchen table with their heads in their hand and he asked, "Why are you sitting in the dark?" Oh, that's because Lewis Howard Latimer (A Black man) invented the filament within the light bulb.
So, if you ever wonder, like Theo, where we would be without Black people....it's pretty plain to see...
We would still be in the dark!!!
