A very humorous and revealing story is told about a group of white people who were fed up with African Americans, so they joined together and wished themselves away. They passed through a deep dark tunnel and emerged in sort of a twilight zone where there is an America without black people.
At first these white people breathed a sign of relief. “At last,” they said, “no more crime, drugs, violence and welfare. ALL the blacks have gone.” Then suddenly, reality sets in; the NEW AMERICA is not America at all – only a barren land.
- There are few crops that flourished because the nation was built on a slave-supported system.
- There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Miles, a black man, received a patent for the automatic opening and closing of the elevator, and without it one finds great difficulty reaching higher floors.
- There are few if any cars because Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic gearshift. Joseph Gammell, also black, invented the super charge system for internal combustion engines and another black, Garrett Morgan invented the traffic signals.
- Further, one could not use the rapid transit system because its precursor was the electric trolley, which was invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson.
- Even if there were streets on which cars and rapid transit system could operate, they were cluttered with paper because an African American, Charles Brooks, invented the street sweeper.
- There would be few if any newspapers, magazines and books because of blacks like W.A. Lovette, who invented the advanced printing press, Lee Burridge, who invented the type writing machine, John Love, who invented the pencil sharpener and William Purvis, who invented the fountain pen.
- Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, they would not have been transported by mail because William Barry invented the postmarking and cancellation machine, William Purvis invented the hand stamp and Phillip Downing invented the letter drop.
- The lawns were brown and wilted without the help of Joseph Smith, inventor of the lawn sprinkler, and John Burr, the lawn mower.
- Their homes were also dim. Yes, because Lewis Latimer invented the electric light, Michael Harvey invented the lantern and Granville T. Woods invented the automatic cut off switch. Their homes were also filthy because Thomas W. Steward invented the mop and Lloyd P. Ray invented the dustpan.
- Their children met them at the door – barefoot, shabby, motley, and unkempt. But what could one expect. Jan Matzelinger invented the shoe lasting machine, Walter Sammons invented the comb, Sarah Boone invented the ironing board and George T. Samon invented the clothes dryer.
11. Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all of this turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another black man, John Standard invented the refrigerator.
What would this world be like without the contributions of black people? Martin Luther King, Jr. said that by the time we leave work we have been dependent on half the world; modern America is created by the dependencies on the inventions from the minds of black folk. Black history is more than slavery, Frederick Douglass, George Washington Carver and Malcolm X. Black history is American history and the history of America would not be so without Black America.