Inventions
Garrett Morgan improved traffic safety by adding a yellow caution signal to these lights.
What are traffic lights?
James McCune Smith was the first African American person to earn this degree which led to him starting the nation's first pharmacy under Black ownership.
What is a medical degree?
John Lee Love invented this hand-cranked device in 1894 which students use for their pencils.
What is a pencil sharpener?
Minister, leader of the nonviolent Civil Rights Movement, Nobel Peace Prize winner, pivotal in the March on Washington.
Who is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He remains the only African-American male in tennis to win Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and Australian Open.
Who is Authur Ashe?
Frederick McKinley Jones patented a portable air-cooling unit for trucks, transforming the shipping of perishable goods.
What are refrigerated trucks?
After years of remarkable work as an attorney, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to serve on this, the highest court in the land from 1967 to 1991.
What is the U.S. Supreme Court?
In 1890, William Purvis invented improvements in the fountain pen leading to the creation of this type of pen we use today.
What is the Ball Point Pen?
Founded on February 12, 1909, by an interracial group of activists, including W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary White Ovington, Henry Moskowitz, Oswald Garrison Villard, William English Walling, and Archibald Grimké. It was created in New York City to fight racial violence and ensure equality for people of color.
What is the NAACP?
These two brothers from Rhode Island, from 1894 to 1901, were the first African Americans to play in a senior soccer league, to play and score in an American Cup match, win a league championship, and play for a professional team.
Who is Oliver “Allie” Watson and Fred Watson?
Dr. Charles Drew revolutionized medicine by developing methods for processing blood plasma and storing it in this facility.
What is a Blood Bank?
In 1983, Guion Bluford became the first Black person to travel beyond the Karaman Line to this place and spend 688 hours there over the course of his career as an astronaut.
What is Outer Space?
James E. West invented the electret microphone technology in 1964 that is used in these hand held devices used by military, school safety and police to name a few.
What are Walkie Talkies?
Nation of Islam leader, advocated for Black empowerment, self-defense, and human rights.
Who is Malcom X?
He became a true cultural icon when he refused to be drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, and was forced to give up his profession of boxing in his prime.
Who is Muhammad Ali?
Benjamin Banneker, a notable polymath, astounded his contemporaries by constructing this fully functioning device that tells time entirely out of wooden parts in the 18th century.
What is a clock?
Kamala Harris became the first African American and first woman to be sworn in to this prestigious office.
What is the Vice Presidency?
Nathaniel Alexander patented the first of these chairs in 1911 with the hopes of these being used in church and schools.
What is a folding chair?
Student leader, Freedom Rider, key organizer for the March on Washington, and longtime U.S. Congressman.
Who is John Lewis?
Jackie Robinson is credited for breaking the color barrier in MLB for the National League. 11 Weeks later, this African American baseball player joined the Cleveland Indians in the American League and went on to be a Hall of Fame center fielder and seven-time All-Star.
Who is Larry Doby?
Mark Dean co-invented this first IBM machine that is used in most homes today.
What is the personal computer?
Despite being on the air for 3 years and showcasing hundreds of music videos, Michael Jackson became the first African American musician to have a featured music video in heavy rotation, breaking this channels color barrier.
What is MTV?
Marie Van Brittan Brown and her husband Albert L. Brown invention consisted of peepholes, a camera, monitors, and a two-way microphone and an alarm button that would immediately contact the police.
What is the Home Security System?
Influential organizer behind the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
Who is Ella Baker?
During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Adolf Hitler attempted to use the Games as a showcase for his Third Reich and the supposed superiority of the Aryan race. This black track star turned that theory on its head right quick by winning four gold medals in the 100m sprint, the long jump, 200m sprint, and the 4x100m relay.
Who is Jesse Owens?