BLACK INVENTORS SPOTLIGHT
In honor of Black History Month, it’s only right that we show our appreciation for our Black Inventors. Black Inventors play a massive role in our everyday lives today. A lot that wouldn’t exist without the visionary minds of Black scientists and other creators.
Marie Van Brittan Brown was the inventor of the first home security system. She wanted to create a device that could tell her who was at her front door without her having to get up and walk there herself physically. With her husband’s help, she is also credited with the invention of the first closed-circuit television. This device used a group of cameras, peepholes, and monitors to show different areas of their home.
Garrett Morgan, the child of two formerly enslaved people, was granted a patent on November 20, 1923, for his three-position traffic signal. He patented the T-shape pole with three settings. His miraculous invention allowed crossing vehicles to be regulated more safely than previous signals. It could be set at half-mast at night when traffic was light to warn drivers to proceed carefully. This is what a flashing yellow light is today.
Our great sister Sarah Boone invented the modern-day ironing board. Boone was among the first black women in history to receive a patent. Her patent came in 1892. She tailored her invention specifically for women by taking the board’s previous design and curving the edges to account for the seams found in most women’s clothing at the time.
Lastly, our queen Judy Reed is the first African American woman on record to receive a patent. Applicants weren’t required to put their race on their documents back then. Her invention of the “Dough Kneader and Roller” allowed dough to mix more evenly, progressing between two rollers carved with corrugated slats that would act as kneaders. The dough would then land in a covered receptacle to keep the dough clean and protected.
Too often, Black people’s accomplishment goes neglected and without it, ask yourself, where would we be today?
