How we celebrated Black History Month

I was not taught anything of note about black history at school (except slavery) so my knowledge of black achievement came from what I was told by my parents. Black History Month (BHM) originated in the US, but has been marked in the UK every October since the 1980s and, given world events this year, I wanted to celebrate it and make it relevant and interesting, so thought I would highlight black inventors and their patents.

Working at EIP, an IP firm which embraces diversity and inclusion, I wanted to use our internal communication channel, Yammer, to celebrate BHM so I posted a new inventor’s story on Yammer every day throughout October.

‘EIP’ers’ are great quizzers so to try and pique interest I added questions within the daily posts for them to learn more about black history and its impact of our industry. I even organised a prize (some authentic hot sauces from the Caribbean!) for the winner of our EIP BHM Quiz.

I soon realised with sadness that many inventions were not granted patents or ignored, particularly within the US, because the inventors were black and born or forced into slavery, which excluded them from being recognised by the patent office.

Despite this challenge I persevered with my research and really enjoyed learning about the wealth of black inventors with interesting stories and inventions which are still in use today. Below I have highlighted a few of my favourites.

Bedsteads, blood tests and propellors

Henry Boyd was born into slavery in Kentucky in 1802 and after buying his freedom, he invented the Boyd Bedstead, a corded bed created with wooden rails connected to the headboard and footboard. He knew he would have problems obtaining a patent, so he partnered with a white craftsman and had him apply for the patent.

Benjamin Montgomery, born into slavery in 1819, invented a steamboat propeller designed for shallow water. Montgomery tried to apply for a patent, but the application was rejected due to his status as a slave. His owners tried to take credit for the propeller invention and patent it themselves, but I was pleased to find out the patent office rejected their application because they were not the true inventors.

And Dr Arlyne Simon, who invented a blood test that detects when cancer patients reject a bone marrow transplant and her book, “Abby Invents Unbreakable Crayons” that encourages children that look like her, to gain an interest in STEM subjects.