Updated: 7:37 AM PST, February 10, 2021
During Black History Month, a look at how Black Americans changed the world and everyday lives, from peanut oil to home security systems.
Many know the history of George Washington Carver and how he changed American farming. Fewer may be familiar with Marie Van Brittan Brown, a nurse who worked long hours and came home alone, late at night to her Queens, New York apartment, and ended up inventing the first home security system.
From changing the world to making everyday life easier, Black scientists and inventors have long imagined, then created, pioneering works, often without recognition or compensation.
9 Everyday Things We Wouldn t Have Today Without These Black Inventors
The first home security system was created by a Black woman in Queens, NY. Feb 8, 2021
The United States is one of the most innovative and technologically advanced countries in the world. You know this already. In fact, you re probably reading this on a smart device while simultaneously using another form of technology (listening to music, riding your Peloton, chatting with Alexa). How’d we get here? Well, it definitely wasn’t by luck. The bright minds, the innovative spirit, and the hard work of the American people paved the way.
Black Inventors Who Changed The World: Marie And Albert Brown
A full-time nurse, she spent long hours away from home and was concerned about break-ins.
Marie Van Brittan Brown and her husband Albert wanted to be safe. Their careers kept them away from home, especially with Marie working odd hours at the hospital. They put their heads together and devised a plan that would earn them a patent for the first home security system.
Born in Queens, New York in 1922, Marie didn t take safety for granted. She and her husband, Albert Brown, lived in a high crime area, and she wanted a better way to protect herself and the ability to monitor her home when they were away.
Wale Elegbede: Contributions made by African Americans are everywhere
There are so many neglected contributions of African Americans, which is why Black History Month is needed, and why African American historian Carter G. Woodson created and spearheaded it in 1926 to honor those contributions.
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Wale Elegbede | ×
Welcome to Black History Month!
I’d like you to go on a little drive with me to downtown Rochester. Before we get to where we are going, we’ll need to wait for the three-way traffic light to change, and traffic to stop at the intersection so that we can safely drive through. By the way, we have African American inventor Garrett Morgan to thank for that. Morgan improved the traffic light system when he patented the electric automatic traffic signal in 1923. In addition to the “stop” and “go” lights, his invention also stopped traffic in all directions to give drivers adequate time to stop or get through the intersection. We’ll no
(Updated: February 5, 2021)
Bessie Coleman (left) Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain // Shirley Chisholm (center) Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain // Dr. Lonnie Johnson (right) Office of Naval Research Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Whether they were involved in Civil Rights, politics, science, technology, sports, or music, African-American history is full of innovators, though they don t always get their due. Here are 25 unheralded Black pioneers and trailblazers you should know.
1. JESSE L. BROWN
When Jesse LeRoy Brown was a teenager, he wrote a letter to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to express his disappointment that African Americans weren t flying in the military. While that changed in the Air Force in the early 40s with the Tuskegee Airmen, it would be Brown himself that would break that barrier for the Navy in 1947. By 1949 he was an officer, and in 1950, the United States was at war in Korea and he was in the action. Brown and his unit were soon airborne, completing dangerous mi