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Celebrate Our Black Pioneers |
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Jan/Feb/Mar 2007
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Mr. Woodson was born in 1875. He was taught to read by family members and worked as a coal miner in West Virginia to put himself through high school. He graduated from Berea College in Kentucky in 1903. Woodson was hired to teach English in the Philippines , where he studied romance languages through correspondence courses. After returning to the U.S. , he began teaching at Dunbar High School in Washington , DC . In 1912 he earned a Ph.D. in history from Harvard University . He was the second African American to earn a Harvard doctorate. Woodson was an active promoter of black education. As a scholar, he was disturbed to find in his studies that history books largely ignored the black American population. He decided to take on the challenge of writing black Americans into the nation's history. In 1915, he established the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History. In 1926, Woodson launched Negro History Week as an initiative to bring national attention to the contributions of black people throughout American History. Woodson chose the second week of February for Negro History Week because it marks the birthdays of two men who greatly influenced the black American population, Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Overtime, Negro History Week evolved into Black History Month that we know today. There are many Black Americans, who have contributed to creating many inventions that we currently use today. Let's read this fictitious story of a little boy name Sam who woke up one morning and asked God " What if there were no black people in the world?"
This is a story of a little boy named Sam, who wondered what the world would be like without black people. God told Sam," Follow me around today, and let's just see what the world would be like if there were no black people". Sam got dressed and started out his day. Sam 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 he 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. Sam ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there. You see Walter Sammons ; a black man invented the comb. Sam decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone because Lydia O.Newman , a black woman invented the brush. Well Sam did not look his best at all. He had no shoes, winkled clothes, hair a mess without the hair care inventions of Madame CJ Walker , and felt awful when he looked in the mirror. God told Sam, "Let's do some chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store". Sam's job was to sweep the floor. He swept the floor and reached for the dustpan, but it was not there. You see Lloyd P. Ray ; a black man invented the dustpan. So Sam swept the pile of dirt over in the corner, and left it there. He then decided to mop the floor but the mop was gone, because Thomas W. Stewart , a black man invented the mop. Sam thought to himself, "I'm not having any luck". "Well, son", God said. ''We should wash the clothes and prepare a list for the grocery store." Sam went to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there because George T. Samon , a black man invented the clothes dryer. Sam got a pencil and some paper to prepare the list for the market, but noticed that the pencil led was broken, but he was out of luck because John Love , a black man invented the pencil sharpener. Sam reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis , a black man invented the fountain pen. Sam couldn't use his typewriter, because Lee Burridge , invented the typewriting machine, and W. A. Lavette , invented the printing press.
So Sam and God decided to head out to the market. Sam opened the door and noticed the grass was very high. He looked for the lawn mower, and couldn't find it because John Burr , a black man invented the lawn mower. They made their way over to the car and found that it just wouldn't start because Robert Spikes , a black man invented the automatic gearshift and Joseph Gammel invented the supercharger system for internal combustion engines. They noticed that there was many cars running into each other, and having wrecks because there were no traffic signal. 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 groceries they noticed the refrigerator was not there, because John Standard , a black man invented the refrigerator. So they had to put the food on the counter. By this time, they noticed it was getting mighty cold. Sam went to turn up the heat and realized the heating furnace was not there, because Alive Parker, a black female invented the heating furnace. Even in the summer, they would be out of luck because Frederick Jones , a black man invented the air conditioner. It was almost time for Sam's father to arrive home. Sam's dad usually took the bus home, but there was no bus because its precursor was the electric trolley, invented by Elbert T. Robinson , a black man. He usually took the elevator from his office to the 20 th 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 was no longer there because Phillip Downing , a black man invented the letter drop mailbox, and William Barry , a black man invented the postmarking and canceling machine. Sam sat at the kitchen table looking very gloom. 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. So if you ever wonder, like Sam, where we would be without blacks? Well, it's plain to see that we would very well still be in the dark!!! |
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Black History Month is the celebration of African American History. February marks the beginning of Black History Month, and we owe much of this celebration to Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
