WHAT IF THERE WERE NO BLACK PEOPLE IN THE WORLD?
Author Unknown
This is a story of a little boy named Uchechi,
who woke up one morning and asked God, "What if there were no Black people
in the world?"
Well, God 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.
Get dressed and we will get started." Uchechi ran to his room to put on
his clothes and shoes but there were no shoes and his clothes were all
wrinkled. He looked for the iron, but when he 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.
"Oh well," God said, go and do
your hair." Uchechi ran in his room to comb his hair, but the
comb was not there. You see, Walter Sammons, a Black man, invented the
comb. Uchechi decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone.
You see Lydia O. Newman, a Black female invented the brush.
Well, he was a sight, no shoes, wrinkled clothes,
hair a mess without the hair care inventions of Madam C.J. Walker.
Well, you get the picture.
God told Uchechi, "Let's do the chores
around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store."
Uchechi'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 he mop was gone. You see, Thomas W. Stewart, a Black man, invented
the mop.
Uchechi thought to himself, "I'm not having any luck."
"Well, son," God said. "We should wash the clothes and prepare a
list for the grocery store."
When he was finished, Uchechi went to place the clothes
in the dryer, but it was not there. You see, GeorgeT.Samoan
a Black man, invented the clothes dryer.
Uchechi got a pencil and some paper to prepare the list for the market,
but noticed that the pencil lead was broken, as well he was out of luck
because John Love, a black man, invented the pencil sharpener.
He 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 invented the typewriting
machine, and W.A. Lavette, the printing press Both were Black Men.
So they decided to head out to the market. Well, when Uchechi
opened the door, he noticed the grass was as high as he was tall. (remember
your high top)? You see the lawn mower was invented by John Burr,
a Black man.
They then made their way over
to the car and found that it just wouldn't go.
You see, Robert Spikes, a Black man, invented the
automatic gear shift and Joseph Gammel a Black man, invented the supercharge
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 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
put the food on the counter. By this time, they noticed it was getting
mighty cold. Uchechi went to turn up the heat and what do you
know, Alive Parker, a Black lady, 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 Uchechi's father to arrive home.
He usually took the bus, but there was no bus because its precursor
was the electric trolley, invented by another Black man, Elbert T. 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 usually dropped off the office mail at a nearby mailbox, but
it was no longer there because Philip Downing, a Black man, invented the
letterdrop mailbox and William Barry a Black man, invented the postmarking
and canceling machine.
Uchechi sat at the kitchen table with his head in his
hands. When his 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. Uchechi 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 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 if you wonder, like Uchechi, where we would
be without Blacks?
Well, it's pretty plain to see,
we could very well still be in the dark! And that's just a few of their
inventions.
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