A Little Black History
     
       This is a story of a little boy who woke up one morning and asked his mother, Mom, what if there were no Black
people in the world? Well his mother thought about that for a moment, and then said, Son, follow me around 
today and let's 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. He ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took one look at him and said
where are your shoes, and those clothes are all wrinkled Son, I must iron them. But 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 lasing machine. Oh well, she said, please go and do something to your hair. Son ran in his room to comb 
his hair, but the comb was not there.
You see, Walter Sammons, a black man, invented the comb. Son decided to just brush his hair, but the brush 
was gone. 
You see, Lydia O. Newman, a black female, invented the brush. Well this was a sight, no shoes, wrinkled clothes,
hair a mess, even Mom's hair, without the hair care inventions of Madam C. Walker, well you get the picture. 
Mom told Son, let's do our chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store. His 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. Son 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. Samon, a black man, invented the clothes dryer. Mom asked Son to go get a pencil and some 
paper to prepare their list for the market. So Son ran for the paper and pencil but noticed the pencil lead was 
broken. Well he was out of luck.
You see, 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.
You see, Lee Burridge invented the type writing machine, and W. A. Lovette the advanced printing press. Son 
and his mother decided to head out to the market. Well when Son opened the door, he noticed the grass was as 
high as he was 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 gear shift and Joseph Gammel invented the super
charge system for internal combustion engines. 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 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. Therefore, they just left the food on the counter. 
By this time, Son noticed he was getting mighty cold. Mom went to turn up the heat, and what do you know? 
(There was nothing!) 
You see, Alice Parker, a black female, invented the heating furnace. 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 Son's 
father to arrive home. He usually takes the bus. But there was no bus.
You see, it's precursor was the electric trolley, invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson. He usually 
takes 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 invented the post
marking and cancelling machine. Son 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?
You see, Lewis Howard Latimer, a black man, invented the filament within the light bulb. Son quickly learned 
what it would be like if there were no black people in the world. Not to mention if he were ever sick and needed 
blood. 
You see, 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. 
So Son and his Mom had a great deal to think about....