Dear MoveOn member,
What do the COVID-19 vaccine, ice cream, central heating, stoplights, mailboxes, and phone and computer screens all have in common?
Black American inventors.
That's right, Black Americans developed these life-changing and lifesaving inventions.
And yet most Americans know none of the names or stories of the people responsible. Not one.
So often in our history, the Black people behind the inventions and innovations that define our lives are made invisible and forgotten by history.
Each of us, John, needs to be a part of changing that, chipping away at white supremacy, and centering Black Americans.
That's why MoveOn partnered with an amazing Black artist, Elly Rodgers, to create this Black History Month sticker honoring Black American inventors, and we’re giving them away for free—while supplies last.
Just click here or on the image below to get your "Black minds change lives" sticker now!
Alice H. Walker was working as a cook in New Jersey in 1919 when she patented a central heating system that led to the creation of modern home heating systems used across the globe.1
Garrett Morgan, the son of formerly enslaved parents, had only an elementary school education when he created the stoplight that is still used at intersections today.2
Mark Dean led the team of computer scientists at IBM who invented color computer monitors—the technology that allowed for modern computers and smartphones.3
Valerie Thomas is the NASA physicist who invented a transmitter in 1980 that could project 3D images onto a screen, thus paving the way for the 3D movies playing in theaters today.4
And in 2020, Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett became the lead scientist at the National Institutes of Health’s Vaccine Research Center. Her work led to the creation of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.5
These are just a few of the innumerable Black inventors whose creations have touched our lives—and yet most of them go uncredited, erased by a culture of white supremacy that refuses to treat Black people and people of color fairly.
John, while we take time this Black History Month to honor the incredible contributions to our society made by Black Americans, we must also ground ourselves in the current moment.
Black people and people of color continue to be targeted and murdered by police working within a systemically racist law enforcement system.
Right-wing politicians around the country are focusing their culture war efforts on banning an accurate recounting of American history.
Black women are three times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related complications, often due to structural racism and implicit bias within our health care system.6
And so much more.
–Kelly, Rahna, Oscar, Amy, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "Alice H. Parker," Lemelson-MIT, accessed February 17, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/170490?t=5&akid=345456%2E40999114%2EDe1ksU
2. "Garrett Morgan," Biography, June 3, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/170491?t=7&akid=345456%2E40999114%2EDe1ksU
3. "Mark Dean," Biography, January 13, 2021
https://act.moveon.org/go/170492?t=9&akid=345456%2E40999114%2EDe1ksU
4. "21 innovative women of color and the game-changing inventions they designed," Revolt, March 22, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/170493?t=11&akid=345456%2E40999114%2EDe1ksU
5. "Discover Science podcast: Kizzmekia Corbett on going where you are loved," Nevada Today, May 19, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/170494?t=13&akid=345456%2E40999114%2EDe1ksU
6. "Working Together to Reduce Black Maternal Mortality," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, April 6, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/170495?t=15&akid=345456%2E40999114%2EDe1ksU
Want to support MoveOn's work? Together, we must work to end the filibuster, codify abortion rights into law, and defend our freedoms, our families, and our futures. We can accomplish all this and more, but only if we work together.
Will you chip in right now to power our critical work?
Click here to chip in $3, or whatever you can afford.
Contributions to MoveOn Civic Action are not tax-deductible for income tax purposes. This email was sent to John xxxxxx on February 19, 2023. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.