Black Inventions
Lonnie Johnson accidentally created this high-pressure, 1-billion-dollar water g*n while experimenting with an eco-friendly heat pump in his bathroom.
What is a super soaker?
Bernie Mac famously sat in his den and addressed the audience by this collective name.
What is America?
This is the full phrase that the acronym "C.R.E.A.M." stands for.
What is cash rules everything around me?
In 1984 and 1988, this 'Rainbow Coalition' founder broke racial barriers by running for president, and in 2000, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Bill Clinton.
Who is Jesse Jackson?
She became the first Black artist to headline Coachella in 2018 with a performance celebrating HBCU culture.
Who is Beyonce?
John L. Love simplified the workday for students and artists alike by patenting this portable, hand-cranked device in 1897.
What is the portable pencil sharpener?
Centered on the Evans family in a Chicago housing project, Good Times featured the eldest son J.J., famous for this signature catchphrase.
What is "Dy-o-mite!" ?
Known as the 'Pavarotti of Pop,' this R&B titan—who once led a fan club for Patti LaBelle—won eight Grammys, including a posthumous Song of the Year for a 2003 tribute to his late father.
Who is Luther Vandross?
A 2020 posthumous Pulitzer recipient, this 'Princess of the Press' published the 1895 exposé A Red Record and will be the first 2025 honoree on the U.S. Mint's American Women Quarters.
Who is Ida B. Wells?
In 2019, he became the first openly gay Black man to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Pose.
Who is Billy Porter?
In 1853, George Crumb, a Black and Native American chef, invented this crispy snack out of spite after a customer complained his fries were too thick.
What are potato chips?
This spinoff of The Cosby Show followed Denise Huxtable to this fictional Historically Black College (HBCU).
What is Hillman College?
This 1960s girl group, led by Diana Ross, remains the most successful American vocal group of all time.
Who are The Supremes?
In February 2026, the U.S. House renamed its press gallery for this 'North Star' editor, exactly 150 years after he became the first Black member of the congressional press corps.
Who is Frederick Douglas?
In 1921, she became the first African American and Native American woman to hold a pilot's license.
Who is Bessie Coleman?
Dr. Patricia Bath revolutionized ophthalmology in 1986 by inventing a laser device to treat this condition.
What are cataracts?
Fred Sanford, a junk dealer in Watts, frequently clutched his chest and called for his late wife with this phrase.
What is "This is the big one! I'm coming Elizabeth!"
Long before Elvis recorded "Hound Dog," this powerful blues singer released the original version in 1953, which spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the R&B charts.
Who is Big Mama Thorton?
In June 1966, this SNCC chairman electrified a crowd in Greenwood, Mississippi, by introducing a two-word slogan that shifted the movement from nonviolent reform to self-determination: Black power?
Who is Stokely Carmichael?
Nine months before Rosa Parks, this 15-year-old student was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a segregated bus.
Who is Claudette Colvin?
"Richard Spikes, a prolific inventor with a knack for automotive safety, received a $100,000 payout in 1932 for his patent of this system that eliminated the need for manual clutching between gears.
What is the automatic gear shift?
Gary Coleman, a child actor, who played Arnold Jackson on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, made this skeptical question a national catchphrase.
What is "Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?
This man founded Motown Records in Detroit in 1959.
Who is Berry Gordy Jr.?
A lifelong friend of Dr. King, he took over as president of the SCLC in 1968 and led the Poor People's Campaign to Washington, where he famously constructed a hut city on the National Mall.
Who is Reverend Ralph David Albernathy?
Known as the "Father of Blood Plasma," this surgeon developed the first large-scale blood bank in the U.S..
Who is Dr. Charles Drew?