It is officially Black History Month, a month dedicated to celebrating and focusing on the contributions that African Americans have made to the United States. Although it is meant to celebrate different African American figures, there are some who are far more known than others. They are usually Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali and Jackie Robinson. These names are easy to recall because every February they are plastered on some piece of decoration or posted on social media. I am grateful for all they have done, but I want to share some other African American figures who have made a differences in society.
Alexander Miles designed an elevator that can automatically open and close its doors and the elevator shaft doors. Before his inventions, you had to manually open and close both of them, which he saw as dangerous because the shaft doors opened when he was riding one with his daughter. Modern-day elevators still have this feature and it goes to show how important his invention was. I know that SUNY Oswego is much better off with his invention, given its track record with broken elevators. I can only imagine how much worse things would be if students had the ability to open and close elevator doors while inside them.
Mary Van Brittan Brown filed a patent for the first-ever home security system. According to Lemekson-MIT, her invention consisted of four peepholes, a sliding camera, television monitors and a two-way microphone that created a closed-circuit television system (CCTV). It also included a remote that could unlock the door at a safer distance and an emergency button that would call the police or security. According to Sa El of Simply Insurance, there are 2.5 million burglaries per year in the US and homes with no security system are 300% more likely to be robbed, demonstrating the importance of home security systems. Home security systems are needed to protect ourselves, our families and our belongings. Because of Brown, we have that and different adaptations of what she made to protect ourselves.
Dr. Patricia Bath is the first female African American doctor to patent a medical device. She invented the Laserphaco Probe that was used to treat cataracts in a more precise and less painful way. According to Shameika Rhymes, the Laserphaco Probe “was able to recover vision for people who had been blind or vision impaired for decades.” From someone who wears glasses, being able to see is a gift in itself and people should appreciate it more, especially since Dr. Francis Clark writes how about half of Americans will have cataracts by the age of 75 and the fact that cataracts are the leading cause of blindness throughout the world, thus proving how necessary her invention is to our lives today.
Lastly, Dr. Charles Drew is considered the father of blood banks, seeing as he discovered a method for long-term storage of blood plasma for transfusion and organized the first large-scale blood bank. His discovery is life-saving, seeing as it is used as a treatment for individuals with cancer, serious injuries and various hematological disorders. Plasma is also stored in blood blanks and can be given to any blood type when they are in need.
These African American figures have been key parts of society. Their inventions are still used today or have been upgraded with more features. They should be celebrated and remembered more for all they have done for us, as well as any other African American figure that has made a difference in society. Let us celebrate all African Americans who have made life easier for us.
