“Truth is powerful and it prevails.” - Sojourner Truth

“Truth is powerful and it prevails.”
- Sojourner Truth

As kids we’re taught to always tell the truth. Did we? No. Do we as adults? Sadly, no. How often do you hear someone say “if I’m being honest,” or “to tell you the truth…” If truth was a given, nobody would have to make a point that they’re telling it.

Truth can be hard. It can make us uneasy or even upset. But no matter how the truth makes us feel, it’s the only thing we’ll ever really learn from; the only thing upon which we can make the decisions we must to shape the direction we’re heading.

The hard truth of this country is that black Americans have suffered at the hands of a system originally created and administered to suppress them for centuries. The Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776 but slavery wasn’t abolished until the thirteenth amendment in 1865, and even then it wasn’t always honored. Segregation was still considered constitutional until 1954 when the Supreme Court overruled it in Brown v. Board of Education. It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 the Attorney General removed race-based restrictions on voting for black Americans.

In an era when racism reigned supreme, black Americans were busy building a better future – for all Americans.

You can thank Alexander Miles for not risking a freefall each time you step in an elevator. In 1887, he invented the mechanism that automatically opens and closes elevator shaft doors. He received a patent that same year.

You can thank inventor Garrett Morgan for making us all safer on the roads. With only an elementary school education, Morgan came up with several significant inventions including the gas mask, but one of his most influential inventions was an improved traffic light that added the yellow yield signal for which Morgan received a patent in 1923.

You can thank Frederick McKinley Jones for safeguarding our nation’s perishable supply chain by inventing the first refrigerated truck. His roof-mounted cooling system was used to refrigerate goods on trucks during extended transportation in the mid-1930s. He received a patent for his invention in 1940 and played a critical role during World War II, helping to preserve blood, food, and supplies during the war.

You can thank Mary Van Brittan Brown for literally securing our future. She invented the first home security system in 1966 by sliding a camera through peepholes in her door, creating images that could be seen on a monitor inside. She later added a microphone and buttons that could unlock the door and call police, and was granted a patent in 1969.

You can thank…

The thing about history is we’re making it every minute that goes by. And there’s so much more we need to make. According to the US Department of Labor, black Americans make 76 cents to the dollar of white Americans; the unemployment rate of black Americans is 83% higher than that of white Americans; black men receive prison sentences an average of 13.4% longer than their white counterparts; and there’s only one month dedicated to remembering black history.

Black history is our history. It’s our truth. It’s a foundation for our future.

Let’s get to work.

“I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
- Martin Luther King Jr.