The purpose of the following two essays is to help our readership understand that there is only one race, and that is the Human Race - and that every ethnic group in the world in general and in the US in particular has made contributions. For those of you who were educated in America, this is a part of American history that you may have missed. All people on earth are descendants of Africans, proven by DNA research and currently being catalogued by National Geographic through its Genome Project, documented in Spencer Wells' "Journey of Man", available both in book and on DVD.
ERASE wants you to Enjoy and Learn!
[This information was found by Googling "Imagine a World Without Black People" based on some information that had been received in emails sent out broadly several years ago and represents an incomplete listing of the achievements of this group of people of a darker hue, direct descendants of African slaves, and often referred to as African-American or black.]
Essay 1:
http://www.dcbmbaa.org/forums/perspectives/worldwous.htm
What Would This World Be Like Without Our Contributions?
Submitted by: Kathryn Keys, Professional Development Committee
Author Unknown
In commemoration of Black History Month, this month's Information Topic will focus on the contributions of African Americans that shaped not only the development of our country, but also the rest of the world.
This is a story about a group of white people who were fed up with African Americans, so they joined together and decided to wish us away.
After wishing so hard, they found themselves in a sort of twilight zone where there was an America without Black people. At first these "visionaries" breathed a sigh of relief. At last, they say, no more crime, drugs, violence and welfare. All the Blacks have gone!! It makes you wonder… where would America be without us??
There were very few crops that flourished because the nation was built on a slave-supported system. There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Miles, a Black man, invented the elevator and without it one finds great difficulty reaching high floors.
There were few if any cars because Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic gear shift, Joseph Gammel, also Black, invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines, and Garrett A. Morgan, also Black, invented the traffic signals. Furthermore, one could not use the rapid transit system because its precursor was the electric trolley, which was invented by another Black man, Elbert R. Robinson. Even if there were streets on which cars and a rapid transit system could operate, they were cluttered with paper because an African American, Charles Brooks invented the street sweeper.
There were few if any newspapers, magazines and books because John Love, a Black man, invented the pencil sharpener, William Purvis, yes another Black man, invented the fountain pen, Lee Burridge, invented the typewriting machine and W.A. Lovette invented the advanced printing press. They were all Black.
Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, they would not have been transported by mail because William Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine, William Purvis invented the handstamp and Philip Downing invented the letter drop.
The lawns were brown and wilted because Joseph Smith invented the lawn sprinkler and John Burr, the lawn mower. Their homes were also filthy because Thomas W. Stewart invented the mop and Lloyd P. Ray the dustpan. When they entered their homes, they found them to be poorly ventilated and heated. You see, Frederick Jones invented the air conditioner and Alice Parker the heating furnace.
Their children met them at the door barefooted, shabby, motley and unkempt. But what could one expect, Jan E. Matzelinger invented the shoe machine, Walter Sammons invented the comb, Lydia O. Newman invented the brush, Sarah Boone invented the ironing board and George T. Samon invented the clothes dryer.
Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all of this turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another Black man, John Standard invented the refrigerator. No light to eat their spoiled food because the filament within the light bulb was invented by a black man.
NOW WHAT WOULD THIS WORLD BE LIKE WITHOUT US??
Essay 2:Black History Month: Imagine If There Were No Black People in the World
Last Reviewed:
By Makebra Anderson
One morning, a little boy named Theo woke up and asked his mother, "Mom, what if there were no Black people in the world?"
His mother thought about that for a moment, and then said, "Son, follow me around today and lets just see what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world. Now go get dressed and we will get started.”
Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took one look at him and said, "Theo, where are your shoes? Son, I must iron your clothes. Why are they so wrinkled?
When she reached for the ironing board it was no longer there. You see, Sarah Boone, a Black woman, invented the ironing board and Jan E. Matzelinger, a Black man, invented the shoe lasting machine. The shoe lasting machine is a machine that attaches the top of the shoe to the sole.
"Oh well," she said, "Please go and do something to your hair." Theo ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there."
You see, Walter Sammons, a Black man, invented the comb.
Theo decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone. Lydia O. Newman, a Black female, invented the brush.
Well, this was a sight. Theo had no shoes, wrinkled clothes, and his hair was a mess. Even his mom's hair was a mess. See Madam C. J. Walker was one of the first African-American female entrepreneurs, and she created many hair care products for Black women.
Mom told Theo, "Let's do our chores around the house, and then take a trip to the grocery store."
Theo's job was to sweep the floor. He swept and swept and swept. When he reached for the dustpan, it was not there. You see, Lloyd P. Ray, a Black man, invented the dustpan.
So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. He then decided to mop the floor, but the mop was gone. You see, Thomas W. Stewart, a Black man, invented the mop.
Theo yelled to his Mom, "Mom, I'm not having any luck!”
"Well son," she said, "Let me finish washing these clothes and we will prepare a list for the grocery store."
When the wash finished, she went to place the clothes in the dryer, but it was not there. You see, George T. Sampson, a Black man, invented the clothes dryer.
Mom asked Theo to get a pencil and some paper to prepare their list for the market. So Theo ran for the paper and pencil but noticed that the pencil lead was broken. Well, he was out of luck because John Love, a Black man, invented the pencil sharpener.
Mom reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, a Black man, invented the fountain pen. As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge another Black man, invented the typewriting machine, and W. A. Lovette, another Black man, the advanced printing press.
Theo and his mother decided to head to the market. Well, when Theo opened the door he noticed the grass was almost 5 feet tall. You see, the lawn mower was invented by John Burr, a Black man.
They made their way over to the car and found that it just wouldn't go. You see, Richard Spikes, a Black man, invented the automatic gearshift and Joseph Gammel invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines. Without these, the car wouldn’t work. Gammel was also a Black man.
They noticed that the few cars that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks because there were no traffic signals. You see, Garrett A. Morgan, a Black man invented the traffic light.
Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their groceries and returned home. Just when they were about to put away the milk, eggs and butter, they noticed the refrigerator was gone. You see John Standard, a Black man, invented the refrigerator. So they just left the food on the counter.
By this time, Theo noticed he was getting mighty cold. Mom went to turn up the heat; however, Alice Parker, a Black female, invented the heating furnace so they didn't have heat. Even in the summer time they would have been out of luck because Frederick Jones, a Black man, invented the air conditioner.
It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home. He usually took the bus. But there was no bus. Buses came from electric trolleys, which were invented by another Black man, Elbert R. Robinson. He usually took the elevator from his office on the 20th floor, but there was no elevator because Alexander Miles, a Black man, invented the elevator.
He also usually dropped off the office mail at a near by mailbox, but it was no longer there because Philip Downing, a Black man, invented the letter drop mailbox and William Barry, another Black man, invented the postmarking and canceling machine which, which is how we get stamps.
Theo and his mother sat at the kitchen table with their head in their hands. When the father arrived he asked, "Why are you sitting in the dark?" Why? Because Lewis Howard Latimer, a Black man, invented the filament within the light bulb. Without a filament a light bulb won’t turn on.
Theo quickly learned what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world. Daily life would be a lot more difficult, not to mention if he were ever sick and needed blood. Charles Drew, a Black scientist, found a way to preserve and store blood, which led to his starting the world's first blood bank.
And, what if a family member had to have heart surgery? This would not have been possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black doctor, who performed the first open heart surgery.
You don't have to wonder, like Theo, what the world would be like without African-Americans. It’s clear, life as we know it would be very different!
2 comments:
WHAT A MASTERPIECE! BLACK BREEDS CREATION...CREATION MAKES SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING. "IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS"
THE COLORED; LIFE;PEACE;EQUALITY;DOMINION.
THIS SEEMS TO BE THE BASE OF WHAT ALL THE RIFF-RAFF IS ABOUT ON THE FIRE DEPARTMENT...FEAR THAT BLACKS WILL REIGN AGAIN? HUMMM.
To what I understand. The fire department was one of the occupations that was given to the Irish when they first migrated to the US. For the sole purpose becuase it was a job that was dangerous, dirty, and the privileged felt it was beneath them to perform. A similar feeling some may have toward the modern day trash man. When other races started to excell in this field discrimination, racist antics, and a slew of terminations for various reason started to follow. A racial divide spawned amongst the workers where it shouldn't have. Especially in the groups of people that were once and still looked down upon by the majority rule. The Fire Dept was thence given an image and certain heritage that many take pride in. A history that is not foul in it's existence, but flawed in actions that people perform to uphold that pride.
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