Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation

Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation PDF Author: Rayvon Fouché
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801882708
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
According to the stereotype, late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century inventors, quintessential loners and supposed geniuses, worked in splendid isolation and then unveiled their discoveries to a marveling world. Most successful inventors of this era, however, developed their ideas within the framework of industrial organizations that supported them and their experiments. For African American inventors, negotiating these racially stratified professional environments meant not only working on innovative designs but also breaking barriers. In this pathbreaking study, Rayvon Fouché examines the life and work of three African Americans: Granville Woods (1856–1910), an independent inventor; Lewis Latimer (1848–1928), a corporate engineer with General Electric; and Shelby Davidson (1868–1930), who worked in the U.S. Treasury Department. Detailing the difficulties and human frailties that make their achievements all the more impressive, Fouché explains how each man used invention for financial gain, as a claim on entering adversarial environments, and as a means to technical stature in a Jim Crow institutional setting. Describing how Woods, Latimer, and Davidson struggled to balance their complicated racial identities—as both black and white communities perceived them—with their hopes of being judged solely on the content of their inventive work, Fouché provides a nuanced view of African American contributions to—and relationships with—technology during a period of rapid industrialization and mounting national attention to the inequities of a separate-but-equal social order.

Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation

Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation PDF Author: Rayvon Fouché
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801882708
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Get Book Here

Book Description
According to the stereotype, late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century inventors, quintessential loners and supposed geniuses, worked in splendid isolation and then unveiled their discoveries to a marveling world. Most successful inventors of this era, however, developed their ideas within the framework of industrial organizations that supported them and their experiments. For African American inventors, negotiating these racially stratified professional environments meant not only working on innovative designs but also breaking barriers. In this pathbreaking study, Rayvon Fouché examines the life and work of three African Americans: Granville Woods (1856–1910), an independent inventor; Lewis Latimer (1848–1928), a corporate engineer with General Electric; and Shelby Davidson (1868–1930), who worked in the U.S. Treasury Department. Detailing the difficulties and human frailties that make their achievements all the more impressive, Fouché explains how each man used invention for financial gain, as a claim on entering adversarial environments, and as a means to technical stature in a Jim Crow institutional setting. Describing how Woods, Latimer, and Davidson struggled to balance their complicated racial identities—as both black and white communities perceived them—with their hopes of being judged solely on the content of their inventive work, Fouché provides a nuanced view of African American contributions to—and relationships with—technology during a period of rapid industrialization and mounting national attention to the inequities of a separate-but-equal social order.

Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation

Black Inventors in the Age of Segregation PDF Author: Rayvon Fouché
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801873195
Category : African American inventors
Languages : en
Pages : 250

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Book Description
"In debunking some of the myths, including financial success and race pride, Fouch humanizes them and examines the greater significance of their work in the context of American sociological and commercial history." -- Booklist

The Inventive Spirit of African Americans

The Inventive Spirit of African Americans PDF Author: Patricia Carter Sluby
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0313351562
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Profiles African American inventors and patent holders who have created products to simplify domestic life, make industrial processes more efficient, aid military efforts, and improve safety in leisure activities. Describes inventions over the years from slaves and free blacks of the antebellum and Civil War eras as well as modern thinkers who have contributed to technological and medical advancements.

Knights of the Razor

Knights of the Razor PDF Author: Douglas Walter Bristol
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 080189283X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
They advocated economic independence from whites and founded insurance companies that became some of the largest black-owned corporations.--L. Diane Barnes "Alabama Review"

The Alchemy of Us

The Alchemy of Us PDF Author: Ainissa Ramirez
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262542269
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
A “timely, informative, and fascinating” study of 8 inventions—and how they shaped our world—with “totally compelling” insights on little-known inventors throughout history (Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sixth Extinction) In The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines 8 inventions and reveals how they shaped the human experience: • Clocks • Steel rails • Copper communication cables • Photographic film • Light bulbs • Hard disks • Scientific labware • Silicon chips Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway’s writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid’s cameras to create passbooks to track black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies. Ramirez shows not only how materials were shaped by inventors but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences—intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors—particularly people of color and women—who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal—whether it's splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.

Psychology Comes to Harlem

Psychology Comes to Harlem PDF Author: Jay Garcia
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421405415
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
In the years preceding the modern civil rights era, cultural critics profoundly affected American letters through psychologically informed explorations of racial ideology and segregationist practice. Jay Garcia’s probing look at how and why these critiques arose and the changes they wrought demonstrates the central role Richard Wright and his contemporaries played in devising modern antiracist cultural analysis. Departing from the largely accepted existence of a “Negro Problem,” Wright and such literary luminaries as Ralph Ellison, Lillian Smith, and James Baldwin described and challenged a racist social order whose psychological undercurrents implicated all Americans and had yet to be adequately studied. Motivated by the elastic possibilities of clinical and academic inquiry, writers and critics undertook a rethinking of "race" and assessed the value of psychotherapy and psychological theory as antiracist strategies. Garcia examines how this new criticism brought together black and white writers and became a common idiom through fiction and nonfiction that attracted wide readerships. An illuminating picture of mid-twentieth-century American literary culture and learned life, Psychology Comes to Harlem reveals the critical and intellectual innovation of literary artists who bridged psychology and antiracism to challenge segregation.

The Harlem Renaissance Revisited

The Harlem Renaissance Revisited PDF Author: Jeffrey O. G. Ogbar
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 0801894603
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
"By examining such major figures of the era as Jessie Fauset, Paul Robeson, and Zora Neale Hurston, the contributors reframe our understanding of the interplay of art, politics, culture, and society in 1920s Harlem. The fourteen essays explore the meaning and power of Harlem theater, literature, and art during the period; probe how understanding of racial, provincial, and gender identities originated and evolved; and reexamine the sociopolitical contexts of this extraordinary black creative class. Delving into these topics anew, The Harlem Renaissance Revisited reconsiders the national and international connections of the movement and how it challenged cliched interpretations of sexuality, gender, race, and class. The contributors show how those who played an integral role in shattering stereotypes about black creativity pointed the way toward real freedom in the United States, in turn sowing some of the seeds of the Black Power movement."--From publisher description.

Your Legacy

Your Legacy PDF Author: Schele Williams
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1647000726
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
Your Legacy is a proud, empowering picture book introduction to African American history that celebrates and honors enslaved ancestors from author Schele Williams and illustrator Tonya Engel. Your story begins in Africa. Your African ancestors defied the odds and survived 400 years of slavery in America and passed down an extraordinary legacy to you. Beginning in Africa before 1619, Your Legacy presents an unprecedentedly accessible, empowering, and proud introduction to African American history for children. While your ancestors’ freedom was taken from them, their spirit was not; this book celebrates their accomplishments, acknowledges their sacrifices, and defines how they are remembered—and how their stories should be taught. “We are grateful to Schele and her dedication to making our beautiful history accessible to our children! Your Legacy is an educational and celebratory piece we’ve enjoyed sharing with our family. We are extremely excited for this story to be shared with other families as we continue to celebrate our rich history in this world.” —New York Times bestselling authors Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union Wade

The Negro Family

The Negro Family PDF Author: United States. Department of Labor. Office of Policy Planning and Research
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : African American families
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
The life and times of the thirty-second President who was reelected four times.

Granville Taylor Woods

Granville Taylor Woods PDF Author: Jonathan Walker Sr. P.E.
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1465307699
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
By 1907, Mr. Granville Taylor Woods was the first Black American who was granted 49 patents and was titled the "Black Edison" in news articles from the 1900s. Mr. Woods was a pioneer in power distribution, telegraph communication, and safety for the railway industry. Granville Taylor Woods sold eight patents to the General Electrical Company, Harry Ward Leonard, Westinghouse Air Brake Company, and various individuals or investment partners. The ultimate goal of this book is to provide standard concepts in presenting accurate interpretations of patents granted to Granville Taylor Woods. This book is not intended to dispute, dishonor, or argue for or against a particular accomplishment by Granville Taylor Woods. Rather, the author aims to furnish a concise way to present the material in laymans terms. To put something in laymans terms is to describe a complex or technical issue using words and terms that an average individual may comprehend the basic concept. The material is divided into five (5) sections related to Mr. Woods: Introduction, birthplace of Granville Woods, list of patents, list of patent assignments, and photos with a description of each patent granted to Mr. Woods. The introduction provides the purpose of the book, the authors approach, and fundamental patent terminology. Section two contains the most reliable source of Granville Woods birthplace and his whereabouts as a young adult and teenager. This source of information is extracted through the United States Federal Census that is closest to Mr. Woods birth. Section three is concentrated on a brief explanation that verifies the number of patents granted to Granville Taylor Woods in addition to patents he assigned to individuals, partners, or companies. Section four is centered on patent assignments by Granville Taylor Woods since the majority of patents were assigned to individuals, partners, or companies. Section five is the focal point of this book because the original images of Mr. Woods patent drawings will be displayed, both front and back. This is the most exciting part of the book!