Black history is American history

Freedom. The right to life. The right to vote. The right to equal treatment under the law. The human need to be recognized and respected as much as anyone else.

These basics were too long denied to a large segment of Americans. In 1926, they still lagged so far behind, there were essentially two Americas divided by a wall of skin color. That’s when “Negro History Week” was first established.

Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson sincerely believed truth and reason would prevail over prejudice. To that end, and hoping to raise awareness of little-known African-American contributions to American civilization, in he initiated the first “Negro History Week” in February 1926 – the same week of both statesman-abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln’s birthdays.

Given President Lincoln’s commitment to freeing slaves, that timing was apropos.

The response was massive: Black history clubs sprang up; teachers requested classroom educational materials; white citizens, scholars, and philanthropists stepped up to publicly endorse it.

According to Blackhistorymonth.gov, by Woodson's death in 1950, Negro History Week had become a central part of African-American life. Across the nation mayors had begun to issue proclamations noting Negro History Week.

The impassioned brotherly love and civil rights momentum of the 1960s expanded American consciousness about heartbreaking injustices which were then so rampant. The importance of understanding black history – to right wrongs, but also to understand ourselves as a nation - focused Americans of all colors on the contributions of African-Americans to our collective history and culture.

Since President Ford expanded it to the full month of February in 1976, urging Americans to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history,” every American president has issued a proclamation to commemorate Black History Month.

It’s become part of American life, not just African-American life.

And about those contributions, they’re as diverse as this nation. Most of us studied Frederick Douglass in school, and are probably familiar with the bravery of Harriet Tubman and the underground railroad. We know about Dr. Martin Luther King and poet Maya Angelou. President Obama and General Colin Powell.

But did you know about these inventors whose designs still impact our daily lives?

New York nurse Mary Van Brittan Brown invented the first home security unit. It used speakers and a camera which slid through peepholes in her front door, and offered a view on a monitor inside. In 1966, that was impressive high tech.

Garrett Morgan patented the three-light traffic signal in 1923, and a gas mask.

Thank Frederick McKinley Jones for inventing refrigerated trucks which bring us meat, produce, and temperature-sensitive medicines (1940).

Alexander Miles saved lives by patenting the automatic elevator door in 1887, after his daughter fell and almost lost hers in an elevator shaft.

Lewis Latimer’s carbon light bulb filament (1881) was one of several inventions he made while working for a patent law firm, after serving in the military.

This will date some of us. Remember those first klunky computers with drab, colorless screens? Mark Dean – a chief engineer for IBM in the 1980s - co-invented color monitors for early IBM-PCs, along with the gigahertz chip.

To name just a few in the medical arena, Dr. Patricia Bath was a pioneer in cataract surgery; Charles Drew in blood transfusions; and Alexa Canady, in pediatric neurosurgery. Alice Augusta Ball developed an injectable oil to treat leprosy. Leonidas Berry invented the first “gastroscopy scope” (to see inside the stomach). And bioengineering professor Kwabena Boahen, currently teaching at Stanford University, designed a silicon chip that can mimic functions of the eye’s retina.

The list is long. The point is simple: As Americans, we remember the contributions of all and overlook none. Because not long ago, we didn’t. Because when we can, we become a more cohesive nation.

Sholeh Patrick, J.D. is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email Sholeh@cdapress.com.