It’s that time of year again. The time many who are out of the loop dread, Black History Month. The time of the year people must convincingly pretend to care about Black Americans’ legacy in the United States.
Been naughty this year and haven’t been keeping yourself up to speed on black history facts?
Never fear, I’ll write about it all month! This week: a quick guide to help you sound smart when black history is brought up in conversation at the water cooler or before class. Hey, even African Americans learn new things during this month so this is not directed at any particular group.
If you think the “I have been to the Mountain Top” speech was the one President Obama gave on his inauguration, this is for you. If you think bell hooks was Captain Hook’s sailing mate, a quick scan below might do you some good.
This week: Garrett Morgan. This man had inventions for those who love their vanity, traffic regulations, and something that saved thousands of lives in World War I. To Garrett Morgan, the Chilean miner situation would be “so last year,” or rather, so 95 years ago.
He developed a breathing apparatus called a “breathing hood,” and in 1912, a crisis in his town where a group of 62 miners got stuck underground after an explosion allowed him to use them. If CNN had been around, Wolf Blitzer would be manipulating a digitized diagram of the mine while retelling every detail of the crisis. The miners were trapped in a dangerous underground tunnel in toxic air.
Morgan and his brother were called from his house and brought the breathing hoods. After what felt like forever, Morgan and his brother emerged out of the fallen mine with survivors. The people cheered them on as they searched for more survivors. They weren’t able to get them all, but word got around about the miraculous rescue and the man who had invented the device that helped accomplish such a feat.
He later became an honorary member of the International Association of Fire Engineers. Many fire departments around the country after the mining ordeal ordered the breathing hood but when they found out Morgan was black, they did away with the devices that later saved thousands during the first World War.
This was the early 1900’s after all. Ignorant racism is a part of our history. While the color of his skin prevented the sales of his device, it couldn’t take away from his genius and the long term impact it made. We may now celebrate him as, among other things, the inventor of the gas mask.
Garrett Morgan was also the inventor of the first hair straightening hair serum, torturing a neighborhood dog in the process. He happened upon a substance that made cloth stand on end as he was trying to alleviate friction on his sewing machine. In his initial tests, he applied some of the mysterious substance to the coat of the poor dog where it allegedly gave many a fright when they saw the animal running around with its hair on end. Today, if you spray anything on your hair to aid your flattening iron or relax your hair, thank Morgan.
Oh, yeah, and he invented the stop light, but I didn’t want to put people off of Morgan before they got to know the more interesting parts of his life.
Black history can be fun but if it’s not, it will be of great use eventually. If not now, then perhaps in Double Jeopardy someday. It also might help someone someday feel that you appreciate and won’t overlook the contributions made by Black Americans.
Nicole Robinson can be reached at nrobinson@spartans.ut.edu
This is a most interesting fact. I have research Black History and perused many sites for many years. This is my first reading of this information. Thanks for the great job you do in getting the message out. Black History Month is still pertinent for Blacks as much as anyone else, especially for the youth and young adults.