Speech On African American Inventions

Have you ever wondered how the things in your house function? Who created and improved them? Who has helped to make our amazing world go round?
Have you every wondered how black people contributed to many things in our world post their vast contributions during the colonial period? Being a person of
African descent, I know I have. There are a number of inventions and advancements on inventions for which black people are responsible. Pretty cool stuff. Allow me to fill you in on some!
First, before you do anything, look down at your feet. We are all wearing shoes, and this concept reaches as far back as 3500 BC! For many years shoes were made by hand and so not many shoes could be made at a time. Jan Matzelinger, a black man, invented something called a “shoe lasting machine”

Can you believe it? Mr. Jones was also the first black person to receive the National Medal of Technology in 1991.
John Burr helped us out big time by inventing one of the first rotary-blade manual push lawn mowers in 1899. Fellow black inventor Alice Parker revolutionized home central heating in 1919 by creating a zoning system to heat (or cool) throughout our houses. Thank you both!
We have black inventor Alexander Miles for creating the automatically opening and closing elevator in 1887, and black inventor Philip Downing to thank for those big blue metal mailboxes we see mainly outside of the post office. He created an outer door and an inner door for mail safety and protection from various weather conditions in 1891. Talk about genius!
Ever heard of blood banks? In the 1940s, black inventor Dr. Charles Drew developed a large scale blood bank during World War II that saved thousands of lives. Many of our ancestors who were injured made it through with his help.
Trains and ships run faster and longer due to black inventor Elijah McCoy, who invented an improved automatic lubricator for them in 1872. His system worked so well that railroad engineers began asking for “The Real McCoy” and not a