The Entrepreneurial Spirit of African American Inventors

264 Pages·2011·2.2 MB·English

by  Patricia Carter Sluby

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL

SPIRIT OF AFRICAN
AMERICAN INVENTORS
PATRICIA CARTER SLUBY
Copyright 2011 by Patricia Carter Sluby
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in
a review, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sluby, Patricia Carter.
The entrepreneurial spirit of African American inventors / Patricia Carter Sluby.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-313-36335-1 (hardback) — ISBN 978-0-313-36336-8 (ebook)
1. Inventions—United States—History. 2. African American inventors—
History. 3. African American business enterprises—History. 4. United States—
Race relations—History. I. Title.
T21.S58 2011
338.6'42208996073—dc22 2010047613
ISBN: 978-0-313-36335-1
EISBN: 978-0-313-36336-8
15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5
This book is also available on the World Wide Web as an eBook.
Visit www.abc-clio.com for details.
Praeger
An Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC
ABC-CLIO, LLC
130 Cremona Drive, P.O. Box 1911
Santa Barbara, California 93116-1911
This book is printed on acid-free paper
Manufactured in the United States of America
To my maternal great-grandfather Giles Beecher Jackson Esq.,
a passionate businessman and ardent believer in black
enterprise, and to my father, William A. Carter Jr., and
his father, William Sr., both pioneer entrepreneurs.

Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. Setting the Stage: Early Inventive Spirit 5
2. Self-Help—a Beginning: Business in the Making 23
3. Following Their Passion—in the Marketplace 39
4. Commercialized Concepts: Capital and Enterprises of Today 67
5. Epilogue 97
Appendix: Roster of African American Patentees:
Utility and Design Grants from 1821 101
Notes 231
Bibliography 239
Index 243

Preface
I n past centuries, American people of color were acknowledged by whites for
their talent for music and dance, but any mention of the “Negro’s” innate abil-
ity in the realm of inventive genius was considered fantasy. Thought of as hav-
ing little if any originality, they were presumed to possess mental defi ciency
in the mechanical and industrial arts and to be incapable of original thought.
Even people of color themselves, coming from the previous condition of bond-
age and having very little opportunity for gaining knowledge in science, fi ne
art, or literature, were unaware of members of their race who had the faculty
for discovery. Whites reasoned that the black man could not perform like any
person of the majority race. But the general assumption by whites that blacks
were not capable of becoming inventors or had no business acumen was far
from truthful. The paternalistic and denigrating attitudes of white supremacists
permeated Western society, but in spite of their power and opinion, notable
black ability and ingenuity prevailed.
N umerous accounts refl ect innovative efforts of Americans of African de-
scent, of those who believed in self-reliance and self-motivation. In earlier cen-
turies blacks developed a strong business tradition. These stalwart, creative
men and women helped make a better America, and they displayed entrepre-
neurial spirit identical to that of other immigrants in America. Free inhabitants
in Northern and Southern cities and towns received considerable income from
barbering, tailoring, catering, and the clothing business.1 Livery stable enter-
prises afforded freedmen another profi table effort.
viii PREFACE
L et’s go back in history to set the stage. Expounding in 1833 on the skillful-
ness of the Negro, U.S. Representative Edward H. Everett (later president of
Harvard University) gave an address before the Massachusetts Colonization
Society wherein he asserted that in the history of the black race, “In the period
of their glory, when they occupied the forefront in the march of civilization,”
one should “see what they were and what they did three thousand years ago.” 2
T he oldest remains of humans have been found in Kenya, the heart of the
African continent. Only two types of artifacts from this early period remain
today—partial skeletons and the tools with which people worked. The human
who fi rst took up the stone ax, the arrowhead, and the fl int knife lived in in-
nermost Africa, home of the darker races. Obviously, then, prehistoric man’s
presence gave rise to certain items of necessity and convenience. Ali A. Maz-
rui in The Africans reveals that “Africa is not merely the probable cradle of Man
and his initial culture: the continent is also the genesis of civilisation. Eastern
Africa provided the birth of humanity and culture: several regions of Africa
made a major contribution to the development of agriculture; and northern
Africa initiated grand civilisation.” 3
The denizens of Africa worked in metal by fashioning spears, knives, and
death masks of copper and iron. They were creating arts while the tribes of
Europe and Asia were not yet born. They were so advanced in the sub-Saharan
region that they skipped a phase of cultural development, advancing directly
from the Stone Age to the Iron Age, bypassing the Bronze Age entirely be-
cause natural iron supplies were more abundant in the southern Sahara than
copper.
During the fi rst half of the 16th century, Affonso I, the king of the Congo,
was the fi rst monarch to modernize Africa on a large basis. He encouraged
Christian beliefs and brought about the practice of using modern skills in
masonry, carpentry, and agriculture. He improved Congo politics and resisted
the lures of the slave trade.
For nearly 400 years after reaching the shores of America, the darker-hued
race conceived remarkable, clever inventions. Then exploited as slaves, legally
cast as chattel, blacks displayed abundant ingenuity during the developing
years of America. To know the history of America is to be aware of the cultural
and social changes brought about by the result of African Americans’ inspira-
tions. Their mental prowess is legendary.
Like their forebears, early Africans in America were expert artisans, mak-
ing pottery, weaving textiles, carving wood, and sculpting ivory and metal, the
mainline crafts practiced by free and enslaved souls. Moreover, as masters in a
myriad of trades, Africans excelled in mining, metal tooling, and construction.
The skill of the newly enslaved African swiftly was used for the construction
of plantation buildings, stately manor homes and their outbuildings. Slaves
alongside freemen made, designed, and fashioned as well much of the fi ne
PREFACE ix
silverware and furniture commonly viewed in these households. However,
the majority labored on plantations as skilled agrarian workers, mostly in the
tobacco and cotton fi elds. The Carolinas in America’s South were ideal for
cultivating rice, a staple of the regional economy. Here, enslaved Africans who
came from the region along the Gambia River and in Sierra Leone where rice
was grown had their knowledge of rice growing exploited by their masters,
earning for them an enormous profi t on this cash crop.
S uperior skill and natural inherent talent are found in the stories of ex-
traordinary people of color, whether bondsmen or free. In an example, Ste-
phen L. Bishop (?–1857), a Kentucky slave who spoke Latin and Greek, was
renowned for his adroitness and extraordinary skill in the exploration of the
gigantic Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. Moreover, two famous musicians, the
ragtime impresario Scott Joplin (1868–1917) and eminent author, composer,
and arranger Justin Holland (1819–1887), who was a classical pioneer and the
most pivotal American guitarist of the late 1800s, both accentuate the creative
genius of Americans of color. 4
D uring military confl icts of 18th- and 19th-century wars, African Americans
served honorably as soldiers and sailors. Free blacks eagerly responded to the
call to fi ght for the nation. Throughout their service, they invented and devel-
oped intricate weaponry and crafted mariners’ tools, devices, and ornaments.
Scrimshaw art was a common skill among mariners during idle times.
In refl ection on mankind’s ingenuity, the stone or wooden wheel of the an-
cient past evolved into the automobile’s modern steel-belted tire. The printing
press revolutionized our way of receiving knowledge, and the pine torch, the
tallow drop, the candle, and oil lamp fell obsolete to the illumination of the
electric light. Ancient hooks or other unprotected metal shafts used to fasten
clothing, boots, and shoes gave rise to the safety pin and then Velcro fasten-
ings. Today, even the sounds of typewriter keys and the familiar busy line
signal heard over the telephone have given way to the genius of technology-
minded engineers. Ideas for such items emanate from individuals known as
inventors, whether female or male, black or white. Discoveries and improve-
ments have taken place for millions of years, b eginning with the darker races.
Therefore, an account of human inventiveness gives insight into society’s
ever-changing needs. And black Americans helped create those needs in spite
of racial prejudices and rabid discrimination.
B y turning their inventions into wealth, a measurable number of African
American patentees pushed hard to exploit their patented concepts through
business ventures to gain what they generally believed would improve the
human condition and would bring them, the inventors, greater economic
security and higher social status, though such rewards were restricted given
the systems of slavery and segregation that permeated society. Facing an ever-
p resent climate of bigotry and stereotypical beliefs, black innovators c ontinually