How have I been posting this long and missed this gem? OF COURSE black history deserves a month to be recognized, since the other 11 months are spent talking about how we're all thugs and newscasts about black violence and black crimes that, by numbers we commit less, yet are more likely to be discussed in the news than the people who BY FAR commit these crimes more than we do.
Black History Month has been EARNED because, contrary to popular belief, we've contributed VASTLY to science, medicine, technology, and damnit most importantly (to me anyway) we have injected our culture all up and through some damn art (especially music).
"The only race that has not made an (intellectual) contribution to civilization is the black race." A quote from a FAMOUS HISTORIAN, Arnold Toynbee.
1001 Black Inventions is a HILARIOUS play that culminates with "The Twilight Zone," a depiction of a typical American family trying to survive in a world without black inventions. Audiences laugh themselves into the realization that African American ingenuity is an integral part of their EVERYDAY LIVES.
Here are some everyday items we use that were invented by blacks. This is a LONG list I'll shorten for the sake of time and it will be noted that while some of these are original inventions, others are improvements of items that were already invented, or more practical versions: the wrench, eye protectors, egg beaters, air conditioning unit, 2-cycle gas engine, internal combustion engine, starter generator, electric lamp, pressure cooker, pencil sharpener, fire extinguisher, gas mask, traffic signal, folding chair, fountain pen, dustpan, hydraulic shock absorber, refrigerator, mop, helicopter, fire escape ladder, roller coaster, auto air brakes, automatic gear shift, cellular phone, elevator, golf tee, guitar, ice cream/ice cream scoop, ironing board, keychain, motor, lunch pail, small pox inoculation (Onesimus brought this method from Africa where advanced medical practices were in use long before Europeans had any medical knowledge), spark plug, stethoscope, thermostat control, toilet, trolley car.
Lewis Howard Latimer, born September 4, 1848. Though Thomas Edison is credited with the invention of the lightbulb, Latimer made SIGNIFICANT contributions to its further development.
William Hinton, 1883, was a black bacteriologist and pathologist and the first black professor in the history of Harvard. Hinton developed a test for syphilis which, because of its accuracy, was used by the United States Public Health Service.
Lloyd Hall, 1883, made significant contributions to food preservation, meat curing, antioxidants being used to prevent food spoiling,
My favorite part, our contributions in popular music. Ella Fitzgerald excelled in the use of scatting and vocally immitating instruments in jazz music. Her incomparable timing, phrasing, and range employed tactics that are often immitated and she's frequently referred to as a study-guide for jazz vocalizing.
I don't have enough time to tell you how awesome these entertainers are, but they're OFTEN cited as inspirations to popular artists today, Odetta, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Marian Anderson, James Brown, Josephine Baker, James Booker, Grace Bumbry, BB King.
Many of these guys have performed for the presidents, and are not only known for their incredible showmanship onstage, but are as famous for, at the drop of a dime and with no rehearsal, picking up their instrument or opening their mouth and displaying more talent in that unrehearsed moment than most pop stars do today with 8 hours of choreography lessons a day and 3 months to prepare.
These aren't/weren't the people on the cover of the magazines, but their contributions to the actual art and not sensationalism of their private lives will be recongized in the future for being exceptionally talented, not for being on film sniffing coke and going on drunken tirades at the MTV Awards.
Other notables in black arts, Maya Angelou poet/activist, Anthony Davis composer (most notably of an operatic biography of Malcom X), Virginia Hamilton children's author, geez this could go on for days.
My friends and I in high-school often joked that black history month was given to counter the rest of the school year that was spent hearing about brave white soldiers, and white inventors and great/noble white presidents. Slavery and the slaughter of indians were subchapters within chapters that were usually discussed in a few paragraphs, unlike the PAGES that discussed white heroes in great detail and with heavy praise.
I feel that black history month is an attempt to recognize our SIGNIFICANT contributions to, well every fucking thing you do from the moment you wake up, shower and wash your hair, to the car you drive, to the music you listen to IN that car, to the television you watch after work to the food you eat at dinner.
The most popular idealogy I can think of is Eminem. Many members of my generation feel like HE is the one who brought rap to the mainstream and thus is the inventor/innovator of rap. I wonder if a black man talking about raping his mom would've been as well received. There are many people who naturally assume that everything was invented by white people and all black people do is suck up welfare funds and tax dollars while contributing nothing to society cuz we're all uneducated baby-makers and thugs. These mentalities and racisms aren't just employed by whites, but self-loathing blacks and anti-black hispanics who fall for the perpetuation of blacks as useless leeches.
Black history month is also in vein of the racism we've faced in this country. We spent YEARS being called unintelligent porch monkeys that weren't allowed to sit in white restaurants or use white fountains. I think BHM isn't JUST a celebration of our contributions, but a celebration of the fact that we've risen up FROM THE BOTTOM, from slavery and the INNOVATORS in science, medicine, art, education, technology, and politics.
