Black History Month is the time to reflect on some of the wonderful (and life-saving) things black people have done and created. Even the smallest things have greatly impacted today’s society.
Safety for all
We can thank Marie Van Brittan Brown for creating the first home security system! Brown created the security system because she felt local authorities were slow to respond to emergencies and wanted to feel safer in her own neighborhood.
Check her out here
Machines and things
Garrett Morgan is most notable for inventing the traffic signal and safety hood, which would be the blueprint for gas masks during World War I.
Check him out here
There’s always time to lubricate
Something that some people don’t think about often is the importance of lubrication—and not just the one for intimate moments. Elijah McCoy is noted for inventing the automatic lubricator, which made oiling steam engines much easier. McCoy’s invention has been used on locomotives and ships.
Check him out here
Fly, fly away
In 1922, Bessie Coleman became the first African American woman to fly a plane. Since Coleman could not get her pilot’s license in the United States due to racist laws at the time, she went to France to get her license. Coleman would continue to fly until her untimely death in 1926 in a plane crash.
Check her out here
Local Black History Month facts
The Call My Name project has brought up some interesting facts about the history of African Americans on Clemson campus. Here are a few facts that are sure to be intriguing conversation pieces:
There was once an event called the “Chitlin’ Circuit,” an arranged set of locations where black performers and entertainers could go without racial harassment.
Tillman Hall, Hardin Hall and Sikes Hall were built by slaves. The original Tillman Hall was burnt down, but then built again a little while afterwards.
For more information, visit Cooper Library and Callmyname.org.
Honorable mention
It’s a rare thing in horror films to see a black person live to the end of the film, but it’s not impossible.
In the 1978 film, “Dawn of the Dead”, Peter Washington (played by Ken Foree) can be regarded as the first African American male to survive a horror movie. In the 2004 remake, Foree makes an appearance in the first two minutes as a televangelist.
* All images are credited to Google Images

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