African-American Inventions That Changed The World: Influential Inventors and Their Revolutionary Creations

by Michael A. Carson

A considerable amount of the world’s most influential inventors have been African-American, which is a fact that is often overlooked.Throughout history, African-Americans inventors have played a pivotal role in creating revolutionary inventions that has impacted our lives in various ways. These pioneers have contributed to the fields of medicine, agriculture, science and technology, to name a few.In the 1800’s, many of these innovators were born into slavery and were not allowed to acquire a formal education, they were faced with countless obstacles and had to triumph over many adverse conditions. Nevertheless, these inventors have made significant contributions to the World.African-American men and women have left their mark in both American and World History. Many of their innovative creations would not exist today if it wasn’t for their brilliant minds and creative ideas.The incredible inventors mentioned in this book have collectively created over 500 inventions. They represent some of the amazing men and women who have impacted our lives through their intelligence and ingenuity.

131 pages, Paperback

Published July 19, 2017

About the author

Michael and Matthew Carson are a Best-Selling, Award-Winning Father and Son writing team. They are most well known for their publications: “African-American Inventions That Changed The World,” “Today In African-American History,” "African-American Musicians That Changed Music Forever," "How Did Black History Month Begin?" and "Unknown African-American History Makers."

Growing up in Queens, New York, Michael has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Virginia State University and works as a Government Analyst. Matthew is a student who enjoys researching and writing about history. Their family currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

What began a conversation with Michael teaching his son Matthew about African-American history, continued into a five book non-fiction series. Together their passion for learning about historical figures grew into a collaboration, and they wanted to educate future generations about the many significant contributions African-Americans have made in our society and the world.

Michael and his wife Shenika co-founded Double Infinity Publishing. Their goal is to publish high quality literature that represents historical facts as well as provide a voice and platform for educating readers.

Reviews

[OneDayI'll · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was a number of inventors I had no clue about in this book. Everything from CCTV to blood transfusion equipment was created by brilliant Black minds. And a good many inventors were women. As hard as it was for a Black man to get credit for his creations, it was infinitely more difficult for a woman. I'm glad that they're finally getting recognition. I'd love to see this book in some school libraries.

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Note:  This book was provided free of charge by Books Go Social.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.]

The first question to ask with a book like this is whether the book lives up to its title.  Does this book discuss revolutionary inventions that changed the world [1]?  In a word, yes.  Some of the names in this book, like Washington Carver and Benjamin Bannaker, are relatively familiar names given their importance in helping the South recover from the soil depletion of cotton monoculture in the postwar period and in helping to design Washington DC, respectively.  Other names are well known but surprising, like Jack Johnson, a famous boxer of the early 20th century who received a patent while in prison for violating the Mann Act.  Other names are far more obscure but the author is able to discuss the inventions in a compelling way that make it obvious that the inventor made a positive change in the world through his (or her) invention.  The book is well-written and has bite-sized portions that can be read without too much difficulty and appreciated by a wide audience.

It must be stated just how influential these inventors and their creations were.  Included among the inventions discussed in this book are:  the wrench, central heat and air, dry cleaning, traffic lights, the refining process for sugar, automatic transmissions, various train inventions, inventions related to video games, cell phones, and personal computers, seed drills, fire engine ladders, folding beds, and much more.  It is hard to imagine our world being as it is without some of these inventions and innovations, and some aspects of our world--like agriculture and transportation--would be much more dangerous.  The author discusses the biographical information, as it is known, about the inventors in a brief but tantalizing fashion, and also includes a detailed list of the patents held by the inventors discussed in the books along with a short autobiographical sketch of the author himself.  The inventions discussed go back well into the 19th century and the author makes it plain that some of the inventors suffered a great deal from racism and slavery and sometimes struggled to earn money from their inventions.  Most of them, however, have been honored by various professional societies and innovation-related halls of fame, as they ought to be given their inventions.

As a short book of just over 100 pages, this volume is definitely a worthwhile one.  As someone who tends to be annoyed at the large amount of months that seek to honor segments of our society as if their contributions would not stand up if viewed in a larger context, I found the racial and political aspects of the work unpleasant.  The inventors here deserve to be remembered, but primarily as inventive people and not as blacks per se.  If we did a better job at remembering and appreciating invention and innovation in general, perhaps we could celebrate the innovative and creative aspects of people in general that serve as a reminder of the creative nature of our Creator and that serve humanity in making such improvements based on wherever we happen to find ourselves in this life and in this world.  I am not sure the extent to which this book is necessary, but the inventions of this book and the people behind them deserve to be remembered and appreciated.  It should not be necessary that such a niche work be written, with the likelihood that its appeal will only be for those which share in the lamentable identity politics of our age, but if it is necessary, shame on us.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2013...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...

https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011...

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll be honest here and give you a heads up before I begin – I don’t typically read a lot of non-fiction. Perhaps it’s due in part to an academic hangover from university reading, or maybe I haven’t really found my stride with the genre yet, but for whatever reason I often find myself a little intimidated by non-fiction reads. If, like me, you’re a bit of a newbie to the world of non-fiction, African-American Inventions That Changed The World is a fascinating place to start. Short and to the point while covering a range of topics in a good amount of depth, this was such a fantastic read that really opened my eyes to a subject matter that, unfortunately, I’d never really took the time to consider or look into before.

As the author explains at the start of the book, there are thousands of African-American inventors who were not allowed to receive a U.S. Patent for their inventions prior to the early 1800s. This book shines a light on the wonderful and revolutionary work of those men and women, chapter by chapter, whose names don’t typically appear in the history books but whose inventions have had a significant impact upon our lives today. From traffic signals to video gaming, dry cleaning to central heating and everything in between, Michael A. Carson takes the reader through the vital role that Black inventors had in their creation, and in doing so shines a much-welcome light on the people who history has shamefully overlooked. Weaving together details of these individuals lives with discussions of their work and the lasting influence that it has had on the world, Carson made me think about such everyday items or innovations from a completely difference perspective. That is, I think, the true power of books – their ability to open our minds and extend our understanding in a way that perhaps we hadn’t previously. In addition to being brilliantly written and truly eye-opening, this is such an important read that deserves a place on your reading list. Highly recommend!

[Cathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a recommendation on a library list for Black History Month. It's clearly more suited for children but hey, excellent for homeschooling so it's not a loss. The author included few women but we were represented a bit. The background of each inventor was helpful. 5 starts because it is exactly what it says it is. It's not exactly heavy reading material but informative. Each inventor is covered in 2 pages, one for a synopsis of their work, and the other a picture (if available), early life, work life, and inventions they're known for. Concise and plainly written while carrying interest.

[Lauretta Overfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great supplement

A fantastic supplement for any other books on American inventors that you have read or may have in your classroom or home library. Great summaries for all ages. Not explicitly a "living book" but the information contained is vital. Pictures are great. I wish copies of the patent drawings were included (they aren't in the kindle version, at least), but the patent numbers are listed. With those numbers, you can very easily go online and pull up copies of the illustrations yourself.

[Sosena Audain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot about African American inventors that I didn't know at first, I really recommend this book. It really makes me proud!