Proving We Need It

Spectator

Black History Month is not quite dead. President Trump signed a declaration announcing it and he mentioned several Black people from our history, perhaps the only such folks whose names he knows.

But the Trump ban on all things DEI (diversity, equality, inclusion) was more important to some government departments than was the Trump declaration. The Department of Defense, for example, will not recognize February as anything other than a short month. The Departments of Justice and State and others are similarly eliminating recognition of any diversity-specific activities in keeping with the Trump Executive Order banning such recognition.

It’s a shame, because there is much for us to learn or be reminded of from these communities we have marginalized over the decades. When it comes to Black history, we know the basics and some of the major figures, but their contribution has been way, way more than just civil rights demonstrations and laws. It’s a shameful truth we likely would never have heard of any of the following without Black History Month.

For example, in no particular order of importance or chronology...

Dr. Charles Drew was an early barrier-breaker and life-saver. A talented surgeon and chemist, Drew created the process of making blood transfusions safe, created a method by which blood could be stored longer, and helped establish the first blood banks, saving untold lives in WWII and thereafter.

(There is a myth surrounding Dr. Drew that claims following an automobile accident he was refused entry to hospitals because of his race and subsequently bled to death. Drew and three colleagues were in a serious automobile accident but the Jim Crow Museum, citing contemporaneous reports from another passenger, Dr. John Ford, says Drew was quickly admitted to the nearest hospital but his injuries were so serious he could not be saved.)

Garret Morgan was an inventor’s inventor, always coming up with something new. The hood he created to protect firefighters from smoke was subsequently used as a gas mask in WWI, saving lives until mustard gas was introduced. Morgan also invented the three position (red, yellow, green) traffic light, versions of which we still use today.

Eunice Carter was one of the first female lawyers in the country, graduating from Fordham Law in 1932, was the first Black prosecutor in Manhattan and one of the first in the country. Notably, she developed the legal strategy that led to the successful prosecution of notorious gangster Lucky Luciano in 1936.

Lewis Howard Latimer had a knack for making things better. He invented an improved carbon filament for electric light bulbs, allowing them to last much longer, and he invented an improved toilet system for trains. He also invented an evaporative cooling system in 1886 that is conceptually similar to what we still use today and which comes in mighty handy as we warm up.

Bessie Coleman was undeterred by constantly being told “no,” and in 1921 became the first Black woman and first Native American of any gender to receive a pilot’s license. She was also the first Black person from any country to earn an International Pilot’s License.

Frederick McKinley Jones invented the first mechanical refrigeration for trucks in 1935. It changed the way we eat to this day (the same system was subsequently used on trains, boats, and, eventually, planes). The invention saved untold lives in WWII by allowing blood and food to be safely shipped in refrigerated trucks. Jones received the National Medal of Technology and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Marie Maynard Daly was the first Black woman to earn a PhD in chemistry but, more importantly, in 1975, she and a colleague discovered the link between cholesterol and clogged arteries. In a separate breakthrough, she also determined the primary building blocks of DNA are the same in all living things, laying the groundwork for identifying the actual structure of DNA.

We continue ignoring these leaders in ways large and small.

When Donald Trump offered essentially free passage and asylum to “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination,” it was about as nakedly racist as it could be. Why? White South African folks are welcome—they quickly rejected the offer—but our doors are virtually closed to the people of color from all over the world being discriminated against and displaced due to race or ethnicity.

KFF (formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation) says internationally 40 percent of Black citizens, 30 percent of Hispanics, and 28 percent of Asians say they have been, or currently are, subject to racial discrimination. The UN High Commission for Refugees says a stunning 117 million mostly people of color have been displaced due to discrimination of various forms. But no invitations for them.

Donald Trump tried to eliminate Black History Month, then proved why we actually need it.

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