1: The first U.S. patent held by an African-American was held by Thomas L. Jennings in 1821. The patent was for a dry-cleaning process.
2: Another great African-American inventor was A. W. Martin, who created a device we use almost every day of our lives – the door lock!
Langston Hughes’ father didn’t want him to become a writer or poet. In fact, he agreed to pay for his college education, but only if he went to college to study engineering!
Eatonville, Florida, is the first town in the US to be incorporated by African-Americans. Eatonville is also the hometown of cultural anthropologist and writer Zora Neale Hurston.
Here’s 5 more facts to satisfy your appetite.
1: The 1739 Stono Rebellion in South Carolina was the largest slave revolt in colonial America – some of the people involved in the rebellion were originally soldiers in Africa.
2: Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a real place – It’s the home of Josiah Henson, who was an inspiration for the novel. The cabin is located in North Bethesda, Maryland, and has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
3: Satchel Paige is the oldest rookie to ever play Major League Baseball. He was 42 when he started, and played until he was 47.
4: Barack Obama is a Grammy award winner. He won Best Spoken Word Album in 2008 for his two audiobooks.
5: After he retired from baseball, Jackie Robinson helped to establish the Freedom Bank.
Sorry I missed you yesterday! It was my birthday, so I took the day off. Anyways, here’s two facts for both days.
1. In 2008, Usain Bolt for team Jamaica became the first person ever to set three world records in a single olympic game.
2. We all know about baseball legend Jackie Robinson – but did you know he had an older brother who was also a star athlete? True story! In the 1936 olympic games, he came in second to Jesse Owens in the 200-yard dash, and earned himself a silver medal.
Did you know that Liberia was founded and colonized by expatriates? True story! This country in west Africa is one of only two sovereign states in the world that was started as a colony for ex-slaves and marginalized blacks. Can you guess what the other one is? Hint: it is directly adjacent to Liberia. That’s right – it’s Sierra Leone.
Believe it or not, Black History month was not always a month long. Originally, it was known as Black History Week. So, how did it expand from a week to a month long? In fact, it was expanded in 1976 – 50 years after the first celebration. The man who decided to expand? President Gerald Ford.