President Trump Hosts a Reception Honoring Black History Month - The White House

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Events planned for Black History Month in New Mexico

Another Martin Luther King Movie, More Triggers to Stage an Uprising, Make Money

Do you get the feeling that with so many recent events dealing with racism that some group intended to set the stage in advance so that they could later capitalize off the recent injustices via the movie screen?


Every year we have black history events, some kind of revealing media published, and more in America.  "Friendly" reminders of a difficult past to hear about and watch--here we go again, more of the same with yet another M.L.K. movie.


Another generation is on the rise who will experience similar trauma based mind control like their elders. They will sit in the dark and watch their relatives' past unfold on television screens.  "So this is why grandma don't like those white people...No wonder dad hates dem crackers!  Oh, now I see."


What will some do with pent up anger?  Where will they go after being shocked with tears, fears, and more as they see actors display much sorrow during a time period when blacks were boldly treated unfairly?  Trauma tends to show up in many unhealthy ways when it is not addressed.


The reconditioning annually of a difficult history for blacks in ways that keep perpetuating stereotypes locally, nationally and internationally, is no different than having to watch a mother, a father, sister, or brother keep being murdered year after year! 


Psychopathic minds know exactly what they are doing!  They are not interested in "keeping hope alive," as Jesse once said.  They simply want to make money while reminding blacks who is in control.  Puppets who have already sold out, have no objection.  They know better not to breathe a word that opposes anything that they know full well is unhealthy for the black mind, image and spirit. 


What is healthy about being reminded year after year via traumatic events that your people were (and still are) disenfranchised, ignorant, and in need of an intelligent leader by elitists who merely want to keep you enslaved in the first place?  When the truth is one doesn't need a history lesson on prejudice, he or she needs people with big bank accounts to come into a community and build it up!  Offer quality care to help with the mentally, physically and spiritually broken.  Money needs to come in and not go out of these poor and middle class areas!


Don't believe or "buy" into the hype.


Nicholl McGuire


  

Black History is American History!

Know Your Family History: It is Empowering When You Learn About Your Own Roots

So focused on the deceased ancestors of everyone else's family history, one forgets he or she can be empowered mentally, physically and spiritually by knowing one's own family history!   For decades, black strangers have been put in front of our faces and we are told that this one and that one is someone we should know.  Strange names and even stranger philosophies, we spend hours reading about these strangers.  The information helpful, great conversation starters, but those black strangers are not my family.  Their history has not always been similar to my family history. 

Aunt Claudia McGuire (never married) to the right (deceased), my sister in yellow, Grandma Lizzie McAfee-McGuire (center, deceased), Great Aunt Lillian McGuire (never married, deceased) to the right and me (singing)
in red, white and blue dress.  Picture taken 1980 in Pittsburgh PA.

The past several years, I have spent some time interviewing new and old relatives about our family ties and I must say it has been eye-opening.  I have discovered that relatives weren't really born in places they claimed.  I learned that the adjective "black," used to describe many of us, is not the only ethnicity no matter what ignorance others have spread.  I also got to personally meet and talk with the black sheep of the family and figured out the truth as to why some were deemed unacceptable.  Oh yes, it has been fun finding out about my own family history.  Those elder relatives that thought they knew a thing or two about our own black history were proven wrong by historical facts.  They spreaded falsehoods never bothering to take some time to do some family research or getting someone more knowledgeable to do it for them over the years.

It can be beneficial personally and professionally to learn about the people you know, or think you know, more than it could ever be looking outside of your family in an effort to belong to someone or something.

As much as I like learning about black pioneers and their accomplishments, what brings me the most joy is knowing about the contributions my own people made to give myself and others life!  God bless you fam!

To your success in your own family research!

Nicholl McGuire 

Avoid the Slave Hype this Black History Month

There is much to be learned from the past, but we don't stay there despite some non-blacks taking great pleasure to hold up a racist sign or two (a film, a poster, a group's ideology, etc.)  to remind us of what was and their hope of what they want to return.

Slave movies, slave books, slave propaganda, slave...slave...using the black man and woman's history to keep a populace under control.  "Obey your master...Listen to those who know more than you...Work that field...Clean that house...or else," the literature implies. 

Many blacks are guilty of keeping the ugliness of a slave mentality alive, thanks to brainwashing Public Relation teams, handlers, bosses, etc.--modern day slave masters.  These mentally sick blacks are chosen to be poster children of whatever twisted agenda non-blacks desire to promote.  These African American elites talk of what they love while never taking a stand on what they truly hate.  They share why they won't go here or there based on what someone else has told them to say.  Behind closed doors, like a slave, they tell others how they really feel about breaking bread with "those people" and why they would prefer not to be around this one and that one.   All the while loving their masters and all their ways and things more than his or her black self and family.  There excuse for wearing two faces always comes back to food, shelter, and money--sounds like a slave to me.

I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed blacks smile widely in the presence of white people and then show a half-hearted smile with their own families.  The black husband is all grins when the white woman compliments him.  The black wife is laughing loudly with her white girlfriends, yet eye rolls when her man or children come around.  What is going on?  Reminds me of some of those movies when blacks wore those teethe grins and bowed their heads as the white men and women would walk by.  Don't you think those non-blacks who grew up or heard about the so-called good ole' days enjoy getting ideas from those movies on how yet again to keep the ignorant under their feet?  It reminds them of their control over some of those lazy, dysfunctional blacks who prefer getting high and obtaining easy money; rather than walking alert and working hard for honest pay. 

I think of many who are in the entertainment industry nowadays that don't have a clue they are modern day slaves promoting thoughts that keep people enslaved.  Meanwhile, these fools are created to look like idols with a designer suit, some jewels and a fresh hairstyle.  Ignorant blacks eat up everything these artists say while being programmed daily not to think on an intellectual level, but rather in a way that keeps them from seeing and experiencing real truth.  The truth about education, law, government, finance, and more.  Are blacks asking any questions these days and solving problems or are they acting like many of their ancestors just getting along, because they are too fearful to rock the boat?

The slave hype will keep people bound especially those who consider themselves "a brand."  It will remind you that if you stray out of bounds, what happened to those before you will happen to you in one way or another.  Lovers of money and self will listen to master/handler so as not to lose their riches.  Idol worshippers will follow their idols.  The glitz, glamor and gold are sufficient programming tools to keep the slave covetous.  He or she becomes so enamored with all that he or she sees that the mind won't bother to think about anything else except "how to get that money" come hell or high water even if it means selling one's own family out! 

I have watched the expressions on faces, especially black males, who lust the women on television screens and on the streets and speak highly of those who have many things.  These average or below average men can't produce any heartwarming speeches to encourage brothas and sistas to go beyond a slave mentality.  They don't bother to present any ideas that they are willing to pursue wholeheartedly.  And what's worse, they have no clue on sharing anything thought-provoking about their days.  They have been reduced down to a mere worker who knows master's business and nothing else.  Take their jobs away and what is left?  We see evidence of this with the many lay-offs around our nation.  Many can't function without looking for yet another master to save them and their families. 

I say to avoid the slave hype, because it negatively affects the conscious as well as the unconscious mind.  Film is powerful especially when shocking scenes are shown to little ones.  It appears that the racist elite very much want to put the black community back into service positions (ie. movies like: The Butler and The Help and other films where once again stories of slavery are told.)  If the frequent reprogramming works, then there will be more blacks in the future pursuing service roles once again rather than leadership roles.  Obama's mere presence in the White House motivated many blacks to do more with their lives which made many non-blacks feel nervous and threatened about their positions.  Who wants to be a slave all their lives?  Oh, there was change alright.  Maybe a little too much change.

Slavery reminds you that if it wasn't for those who came before you, you would have nothing, yet refers back to those whites, who if they didn't let certain things happen you and your ancestors would have nothing.  Ultimately, an elitist, racist white owner/creator/leader markets his "savior role" whether subtly or quite boldly in media. "You are to appreciate what America has done for you and walk proudly that you and your family are not being hung nowadays," he reminds the his black initiates.  However, if we were to look at the slave hype in a different way; rather than the way others present American History to us, we would find that despite all obstacles they faced, many remained strong and created lives of their own period.  Now compare that with your current life?  If a slave was to come back from the dead, would they see evidence of their former life still very much in existence when they look at yours or those around you?

Nicholl McGuire   

Black History is Everyday of Your Cotton-Pickin' Life

"Cotton pickin'..." I heard that statement used in a sentence not that long ago as a filler when one was frustrated about something, but as you can see it is something that was done by slaves in past years. 

Crazy to think that Black American slavery took place only a generation or two away. Many of our grandparents or great grandparents were slaves if you are 30 plus years.  SLAVES!  Like many of us still are today.  Sex slave, mother slave, angry slave, entertainer slave, lawyer slave, whatever your profession, when you have a boss you are a...that's right worker, employee, or dare I say it, a slave! 

Sure, you may have a nice house, own a car, and have a savings account, but our ancestors in one way or another tend to speak out from their graves, "Hey Negro!"  Yes? we answer.  "You're a slave!"  Not just blacks either, but anyone who isn't in a position where they can sit back and get fat off the land and must work almost everyday. 

"Hey House Negro!" the field slave calls out.  Yes? we answer.  "Just wanted to remin' you to pray to the Lord, you gon' need Him!  Devil is still at work.  He is trickin' you...gon' take your mind and your babies, better watch 'em!"  says that slave who once sang old Negro gospels to get him through the day.

Whether you are "out in the field" working or "at the big house"or "in the office" slaving away, you are doing some cotton-pickin' for someone.  Pickin' over files, pickin' up paper, pickin' up a pen, pickin' up new talent...you get the idea.

So I thought about Black History Month for a moment and thought everyday there is some form of Black History Month in my household.  The children question, "What is it that you are saying?" when old-school terms fall off my lips, so I share a family story.  Then there are those times that my sons bring home something from school that is all about white history, so I take a book off the shelf about my family history as well as black inventors and have them draw black faces.  I also have my own black history moments that aren't about strangers, but about where I've been and where I am going and sometimes I share with others and sometimes I don't.  The way I see things, Black History Month is a good thing as long as your programming is controlled by you!  Don't leave it up to mainstream media to honor your history.  It's far too easy for the master to pull out all the bad of your past and re-program you to shimmy and shake for him, sleep with him, think you are dumb, a mere slave, and to sell yourself and your family out for a few pieces of gold.

Look back on your past for yourself based on the needs you have now!  What do you need?  Encouragement? Love? Peace? More patience? A faith?  Search your family history for these things and if you can't find them, better yourself mentally, physically and spiritually now!

Nicholl McGuire

Do We Really Need A Black History Month?

It is February again, that time of the year when America celebrates Black History Month, just like the month of October in Britain. But do we really need that kind of celebration? Is it really helping understanding or, could the annual nature of it, like a cuckoo in a clock, and its exclusive label rob it of its validity and significance?

As one who has spent the last 14 years promoting multiculturalism from the rooftops in the UK, through the only book on the subject in Europe, and two annual national diversity awards, I have been pretty saddened to hear government ministers and others trumpeting that 'multiculturalism isn't working' or we 'cannot celebrate diversity because it encourages difference' and keeps us separate. But both statements are based upon ignorance and fear which does not really help a diverse community to move forward together.

Every human being desires four things in their life to feel good about themselves as individuals:

a. To be significant

b. To be accepted

c. To be valued

d. To be included

What I call my SAVI empowerment concept.

It means that the behaviour of every person in our world is related to at least one, or all, of those requirements because they all underscore respect. Minorities in a majority world desire 'significance' and 'inclusion' most of all, exactly what they have been broadly denied in the UK through their routine exclusion from high office, the media, arts and politics.

There is nothing wrong with celebrating diversity or encouraging multiculturalism. What has been terribly wrong is a marked absence of respect on both sides of the cultural divide which makes appreciation difficult. The word 'respect' is glibly shouted by everyone in times of crisis, especially in seeking those SAVI attributes, but it seems to be only in connection with our own needs and viewpoint and very little to do with others. We all seek respect, we feel we are denied it, we accuse each other of not giving it. But in reality, we are simply in love with the idea of the word itself, not its implementation. This could be because we really do not understand the meaning of this important word.

Respect is not a single word that we assign as a cure-all to any situation. Respect has six dimensions within it. Genuine respect starts with curiosity of another, then taking the time to give attention, then having a dialogue with them, and with sensitivity for their feelings. These actions should lead to empowerment and healing. Since 9/11, in particular, there has been little respect shown on both sides, particularly in the blanket targeting of Muslims, the insensitive way many have been treated and, for their part, the violence accompanying any criticism of destructive beliefs and behaviour. Vociferous minorities would also deny the same free speech they enjoy to any form of criticism or debate which concerns them. That is not respect. Even worse, an absence of respect has been alive and well in our daily lives, despite denials to the contrary, which makes it difficult for one side or the other to cry foul.

Let's cite a few routine examples which get to the heart of the matter.

Origins of Disrespect

1. Black History Month. This is October and, as usual, it is Black History Month to celebrate Black heritage and culture. This is not just a showcase but an educational opportunity for the White majority to learn about their minority neighbours. It empowers Black people to take pride in their identity and thus a wholesome cause for celebration. There are also many pointedly 'Black', 'Asian' or 'Muslim' organisations which were created for both a positive identity and to guard against isolation, primarily because of their exclusion from the mainstream. Nothing wrong with that at all. However, how would members of minority groups feel if they suddenly saw signs and promotion for a 'White History Month', 'White Women Forum', the 'White Professional Association' or the 'White Entrepreneurs Club', labels which are clearly racist and exclusive? They would rightfully be up in arms. But where is the sensitivity (respect again) for the pointedly White exclusion in those labels?

2. Negative media coverage. There should not be a need for a Black History month at all. There is a flurry of activities in October (February in America), a month saturated with events where everyone tries to be heard, to be significant and valued, and then nothing else for the other 11 months. Like cuckoos, they go back inside their clocks. That is very sad. But Black History Month emerged because of a lack of positive attention to minorities (respect again!) by the media. The only time you hear about minorities is when something negative (like the veil issue?) is being reported.

Minorities in Britain are virtually invisible in every aspect of life except crime. We hear about them ad nauseam in relation to terrorism and street crime but hardly in any other dimension. For example, the focus on celebrities is pervasive in our society. But where are the minority celebrities? The ones well known in their communities but are ignored by the mainstream press? Where are the minority guests and achievers on chat shows? On discussion panels? On entertainment programmes? Once again, they are deprived of significance and value through invisibility but take centre stage when it's negative. Such an exclusive and racist approach keeps minorities in the public eye as extraordinary and non-contributing beings. It uses them in situations that bolster national fear (immigration and crime) while ignoring the vast majority of law abiding, legal citizens playing their part in society. Minorities are also used in a cynical way to show national pride abroad, as with the Olympics, when multculturalism was suddenly cool and essential, but are largely excluded from the preparations and nearly all the service contracts.

Lack of Recognition

3. Absent Media Faces. Today I visited the website of a top national newspaper and, of its 24 writers paraded for the public, only one was Black. I won't even mention television and radio because commercial radio, in particular, is dismal when it comes to representation of their diverse audience among radio staff. Is it any wonder that the views in the media are so skewed against minorities when there is hardly anyone giving an alternative view? Especially when the service provided for them is so negative and exclusive. That is why there is very little sensitivity (respect again) to minority views and feelings. Being on the negative end of any reporting, they are fair game for people seeking sensational headlines.

4. Separate existence. We talk a lot about the need for integration and the separateness of communities, but it has not been minorities who have cut themselves off from the majority, especially in our schools, it is the other way around. Many Whites have a negative view of minorities, fed by the media, and actually move away from areas with a significant minority population to 'preserve their culture'. The result is virtual apartheid in certain localities. That is very sad because neither side is making the effort to learn about one another or mix together. So how can there ever be a better understanding of difference? It really takes both sides to compromise, to engage in dialogue and to be sensitive to each other's needs and perspectives. But simple racism has spawned a lot of lip service while discrimination and exclusion run riot.

Diversity is here to stay

Diversity and multiculturalism can work beautifully when all parties are prepared to compromise, and accord each other respect, but it has to be genuine in every sense of the word. We cannot simply demand respect for ourselves while giving none to our peers because no country can thrive with a divided nation. If we really love our country, we strive to make it a great place to live. There are rights and responsibilities attached to being citizens of any country and merely stressing the rights without the responsibilities is folly and can only lead to isolation, discrimination, resentment and divisions. Clear guidelines on what it means to be British is crucial if the country seeks the respect of all Britons, if it hopes to make them feel empowered and to bring about healing. The Government also needs to add, equally clearly, that if life in Britain is not to one's liking, a life which we freely choose, there are many other countries one can go to that could be more suitable. That should be the bottom line for unity while ensuring due respect for those who choose to celebrate being British, regardless of their culture.

Starting from that base, Black History Month should be scrapped and minority heritage and culture celebrated ALL year round, just like that of the White majority, but under a diversity label. For example, what about Our Diverse Music in January, Our Diverse Literature in February, Diverse Arts and Crafts in April, Dance in May, Diverse Foods in June?...You get the drift. It means that, instead of just focusing on minority crime and negative issues around minorities, the White media can actually begin to pay some proportional attention, throughout the year, to the positivity of being a minority, particularly encouraging involvement and patronage by White participants, sponsors and patrons. That is the only way to make all people feel included and to engender loyalty and pride. It is also the main way to change White perception of their Black neighbours and for all British citizens, whatever their origins, to feel significant, appreciated, valued and included.

ELAINE SIHERA (Ms Cyprah - http://www.myspace.com/elaineone) is an expert author, media contributor and columnist. The first Black graduate of the OU and a post-graduate of Cambridge University. Elaine is a CONSULTANT for Diversity Management, Personal Empowerment and Relationships. Author of: 10 Easy Steps to Growing Older Disgracefully; 10 Easy Steps to Finding Your Ideal Soulmate!; Money, Sex & Compromise and Managing the Diversity Maze, among others (available on http://www.amazon.co.uk). Also the founder of the British Diversity Awards and the Windrush Men and Women of the Year Achievement Awards. She describes herself as, "Fit, Fabulous, Over-fifty and Ready to Fly!"

Top 20 Black History Month Quotations

Although the article you are about to read was written back in 2005, I thought it was relevant to today since so many people like to quote various entertainers, writers, poets, philosophers, politicians, ministers and more on Twitter. Take a look...

1. I am America. I am the part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me." -- Muhammad Ali The Greatest (1975)
2. "Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise I rise I rise." -- Maya Angelou "Still I rise," And Still I Rise (1978)
3. "Racism is not an excuse to not do the best you can." -- Arthur Ashe quoted in Sports Illustrated
4. "Just like you can buy grades of silk, you can buy grades of justice. " -- Ray Charles
5. "The past is a ghost, the future a dream. All we ever have is now. " -- Bill Cosby
6. "There is no negro problem. The problem is whether the American people have loyalty enough, honor enough, patriotism enough, to live up to their own constitution..." -- Frederick Douglass
7. "You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation." -- Billie Holiday
8. "Greatness occurs when your children love you, when your critics respect you and when you have peace of mind. " -- Quincy Jones
9. " Do not call for black power or green power. Call for brain power." -- Barbara Jordan
10. "Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." -- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
11. "The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself--the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us--that's where it's at." -- Jesse Owens, Blackthink (1970)
12. "I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminshes fear." -- Rosa Parks
13. "Have a vision. Be demanding. " -- Colin Powell
14. "Be black, shine, aim high. " -- Leontyne Price
15. "God gives nothing to those who keep their arms crossed. " -- African Proverb
16. "Freedom is never given; it is won." -- A. Philip Randolph in keynote speech given at the Second National Negro Congress in 1937
17. "When I found I had crossed that line, [on her first escape from slavery, 1845] I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything." -- Harriet Tubman
18. "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed." -- Booker T. Washington
19. "Black people have always been America's wilderness in search of a promised land." -- Cornel West, Race Matters
20. "We should emphasize not Negro History, but the Negro in history. What we need is not a history of selected races or nations, but the history of the world void of national bias, race hate, and religious prejudice." -- Carter Woodson on founding Negro History Week, 1926

Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2005) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine
- A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it - online

Black History Month - Nelson Mandela, How Do You Embrace Freedom?

You've probably heard the term, 'embrace freedom'. But how do you truly do that?

First of all, in order for you to embrace freedom you must first believe that you are free. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years. How do you suppose he maintained his sanity for such a long time and rose to the top to become President of South Africa?

There had to be something greater than his natural surroundings, his circumstances. He was physically imprisoned, but no one can truly imprison one who's liberty is in his soul, whose freedom is not dependent on external circumstances but who has freed his mind and found liberty within himself.

Freedom must first come from within, then, no one can limit you because you are coming from a place where no human hands can touch and keep you in bondage; the place where the Holy One dwells and where you are hidden in Christ in God - the place where you discover that you are one with the Master Freedom. What bars can hold such a person who is so connected. Who can enter into that realm to hold you hostage?

Therefore, no matter what your external conditions try to say to you, you shift your mental focus to the inward voice and become one with it. Then, you can truly say to your external circumstances that you are free. Free to live and be. Because he that dwells within, whom you have become one with and heed the voice, has given you the freedom to be you.

It took Mandela 27 years of preparation for what was to be a major change in modern history. Once you've acknowledged and embraced your freedom, let that be your state of heart and mind regardless of what the external says. As Mandela did, use this time as the preparatory period for the manifestation of your liberty.

It is imperative that you hold on until the inner reality becomes physically visible so that you may be a demonstration and testimony to others that freedom truly exists.

Shake off the shackles from your mind. Let your mind line up with the voice, the creator that is one with your spirit. Then you would see your world from a different view point and live the life you were placed to live; a true ambassador of the kingdom of heaven.

What internal shackles do you need to break free from your mind?

To learn more simple doable step-by-step strategies, that will get you from where you are to where you want to be and experience a transformed life, I invite you to claim your free ebook Changing Inside Out Now! The Power of Unconditional Love and get access to regular life-changing strategies at http://www.changinginsideoutnow.com.

From Alicia Isaacs - Changing Inside Out Now!

Looking for Popular Black History Sites?

1. All-Day "Diversity Seminar" Program -- Click Here
2. "Diversity Day" Presentation or Keynote Address -- Click Here
3. "Black History" Presentation -- Click Here
4. Dr. Freeman's African American History Collection -- Click Here
5. Preview Online Diversity Course -- Click HereFlash Player needed to Preview Courses -- Download Flash
6. Critical Incident Debriefing -- Click Here
7. Symbols that Address Cultural Awareness -- Click Here
8. Employee Assistant Seminars in DC Region -- Click Here

These can all be found as well on one site http://www.freemaninstitute.com/AfAmSites.htm

Celebrating Black History Month

To celebrate Black History Month, learn about these African-American inventors and their inventions. Activities are included.

What do Sarah Boone, Alexander Miles, Garrett Morgan, Robert F. Flemmings, and John Standard all have in common? They were all African-American inventors! As part of Black History Month, have your children learn about them and their inventions. African-American Inventors and Their Inventions

1.Sarah Boone - ironing board

2.Alexander Miles - elevator

3.Garrett Morgan - traffic signal

4.Robert F. Flemmings - guitar

5.John Standard - refrigerator

6.George T. Sampson - clothes drier

7.D. Johnson - lawn mower

8.Bessie Blount - a device that allows amputees to feed themselves

9.Otis Boykin - a variable resistor used in guided missile parts

10.George Grant - world's first patent for a golf tee

11.John Lee Love - pencil sharpener rotated by hand

12.Richard Spikes - automobile directional signals

13.William Purvis - self-inking hand stamp

14.Kevin Woolfolk - hamster workout wheel

15.Patricia Bath - first African-American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical invention, a method for removing cataract lenses using a laser device

16.W. A. Martin - lock

17.G. W. Murray - planter

18.F. M. Jones - air conditioning unit

19.A. C. Richardson - bottle

20.E. R. Robinson - electric railway trolley

21.J. R. Winters - fire escape ladder

22.B. H. Taylor - rotary engine

23.Donald Cotton - propellants for nuclear reactors

24.Norbert Rillieux - a method for refining sugar

25.Emmett W. Chappelle - techniques for the detection of bacteria in urine, blood, drinking water, and foods

26.J. W. Smith - lawn sprinkler

27.W. U. Moody - game board design

28.A. L. Cradle - ice cream mold

Activities

1.Research other inventions by African Americans.

2.Find the dates of these inventions and make a timeline of them.

3.Discuss how life would be very different without these inventions.

4.Discuss the process of inventing something and have your students come up with their own inventions. They should give their inventions a name and write a description.

5.Classify these inventions into such categories as Things Around the House and Things for Safety.

6.Alphabetize the inventors' names.

7.Have some children cut out pictures of the inventions and paste them on the left side of index cards. Have other children use sticky labels to write or type the invention and paste them on the right side of the index cards to match the pictures. Make puzzles by cutting down the center of these cards using different patterns. You can also use craft scissors which come in a variety of patterns.

8.Create a criss-cross puzzle or a word-find puzzle with these inventors' last names.

I hope these ideas are useful and have inspired your own creative thinking!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Freda J. Glatt, MS, is a retired K-6 teacher. Helping others reinforce reading comprehension through FUNdamental Reading Activities, including games and worksheets, is her new educational goal. Visit her site at http://www.sandralreading.com.