A World Without African (Black) People

Black History Month Special

Posted: April 07, 2004
By Dr. Kwame Nantambu

Unfortunately, there is an overt tendency by Trinbagonians of African descent (and maybe others) to denigrate, devalue and demean any and everything African.

In fact, over the past five hundred years, Euro-centric scholarship, albeit Eurocentrism, has sought to convince the world that nothing came out of Mother Africa but defenceless, powerless slaves and that the inhabitants of this continent were uncivilized, barbaric, primitive cannibals---non-human beings.

These people contributed nothing to world civilization and culture, according to this Euro-centric interpretation of history or His-Story.

However, an Afro-centric interpretation of world history reveals a totally different, but true, picture or Story. Truth be told:

• Sarah Boone, a Black woman, invented the ironing board;
  
• Jan E. Matzalinger, a Black man, invented the shoe lasting machine;
  
• Walter Sammons, a Black man, invented the comb;
  
• Lydia O. Newman, a Black female, invented the hair brush;
  
• Madam C.J. walker, a Black woman, invented hair care and make-up products for women;
  
• Lloyd O. Ray, a Black man, invented the dust-pan in which to put garbage;
  
• Thomas W. Stewart, a Black man, invented the mop;
  
• George T. Samon, a Black man, invented the clothes dryer;
  
• John Love, a Black man, invented the pencil sharpener;
  
• William Purvis, a Black man, invented the fountain pen;
  
• Lee Burridge, a Black man, invented the typewriting machine;
  
• A. Lovette, a Black man, advanced the printing press to what it is today;
  
• John Burr, a Black man, invented the lawn mower to cut grass;
  
• Richard Spikes, a Black man, invented the automatic gear-shift in cars;
  
• Joseph Gammel, a Black man, invented the super charge system for internal combustion engines in cars;
  
• Garrett A. Morgan, a Black man, invented the traffic light;
  
• John Standard, a Black man, invented the refrigerator;
  
• Alice Parker, a Black woman, invented the heating furnace to warm homes during the cold Winter and Fall seasons;
  
• Frederick Jones, a Black man, invented the air conditioner to cool homes during the long, hot Summer seasons;
  
• Elbert Robinson, a Black man, invented the electric trolly,
  
• Alexander Miles, a Black man, invented the elevator;
  
• Philip Downing, a Black man, invented the letter drop mailbox;
  
• William Barry, a Black man, invented the post-marking and canceling machine;
  
• Lewis Howard Latimer, a Black man, invented the filament within the light bulb;
  
• Dr. Charles Drew, a Black man, invented a way/method to preserve and store blood, which led to his starting the world's first blood bank;
  
• Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black man, performed the world's first open-heart surgery.
  

The fact of the matter is that while all these inventions took place in the A.D. era, let us recall that in the B.C. era, Africans (Kemites) of ancient Kemet (Egypt) invented the binary mathematical system, which is the spinal cord of the computer system today.

Moreover, in 47 B.C., the High Priests of ancient Kemet performed the world's first recorded medical operation.

These original medical doctors delivered Pharaoh Cleopatra's VII son called Caesarion or "Little Caesar" through this procedure named after his father, Julius Caesar, then Emperor of Rome. This ancient medical procedure is called the "Caesarean Section" today.

This operation was done at the Temple of Kom Ombo---Africans invented medicine.

According to the Euro-Greek Homer: "In medicine, Egypt leaves the rest of the world behind."

In addition, these Africans: invented the world's first Zodiac sign at the Temple of Dendera in 300 B.C.; the 365 ¼ day Solar calendar in 4,100 B.C.; the 24-hour day; and paper using the papyrus plant.

In religion, three of the early Popes of the Euro-Christian Roman Catholic Church were African (Black) men, viz, Saints Gelasius, 492 A.D., Miltiades, 311 A.D., and Victor 1, 189-199 A.D.

The African pope Victor I decreed Latin as "the liturgical language of the Roman Catholic Church."

Bro. Malcolm X once remarked: "If I can convince you that you have done nothing then you will do nothing."

What is vitally needed in TnT is a new, holistic educational paradigm at UWI and in public schools across the country to bring to the fore the historical geniousness of African people.

African people are the original peoples with original ideas and if it were not for an Africa of yesterday, then there would not be a Europe, America or TnT today.

Nothing in Europe is original, including the Europeans themselves. The continent of Europe is named after Princess Europa of Mother Africa.

As Itabari Njeri concludes: "So institutionalized is the ignorance of our history, our culture, our everyday existence that often we do not even know ourselves."

So, where would the world be without African (Black) people? The world would still be in the DARK!

Shem Hotep ("I go in peace").


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