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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