American life without Black People

A very humorous and revealing story is told about a group of whitepeople who were fed up with African Americans, so they joined togetherand wished themselves away. They passed through a deep dark tunnel andemerged in sort of a twilight zone where there is an America withoutblack people. At first these white people breathed a sigh of relief. 'At last', they said, 'no more crime, drugs, violence and welfare.' All of the blacks have gone! Then suddenly, reality set in.

The 'NEWAMERICA' is not America at all - only a barren land. 1. There are very few crops that have flourished because the nation wasbuilt on a slave-supported system.

2. There are no cities with tall skyscrapers because Alexander Mils, ablack man, invented the elevator, and without it, one finds greatdifficulty reaching higher floors.

3. There are few if any cars because Richard Spikes, a black man,invented the automatic gearshift, Joseph Gambol, also black, inventedthe Super Charge System for Internal Combustion Engines, and Garrett A.Morgan, a black man, invented the traffic signals.

4. Furthermore, one could not use the rapid transit system because itsprocurer was the electric trolley, which was invented by another blackman, Albert R. Robinson.

5. Even if there were streets on which cars and a rapid transit systemcould operate, they were cluttered with paper because an AfricanAmerican, Charles Brooks, invented the street sweeper.

6. There were few if any newspapers, magazines and books because JohnLove invented the pencil sharpener, William Purveys invented thefountain pen, and Lee Barrage invented the Type Writing Machine and W.A. Love invented the Advanced Printing Press. They were all, you guessed it, Black.

7. Even if Americans could write their letters, articles and books, theywould not have been transported by mail because William Barry inventedthe Postmarking and Canceling Machine, William Purveys invented the HandStamp and Philip Downing invented the Letter Drop.

8. The lawns were brown and wilted because Joseph Smith invented theLawn Sprinkler and John Burr the Lawn Mower.

9. When they entered their homes, they found them to be poorlyventilated and poorly heated. You see, Frederick Jones invented the AirConditioner and Alice Parker the Heating Furnace. Their homes were alsodim. But of course, Lewis Lattimer later invented the Electric Lamp, Michael Harvey invented thelantern, and Granville T. Woods invented the Automatic Cut off Switch.Their homes were also filthy because Thomas W. Steward invented the Mopand Lloyd P. Ray the Dust Pan.

10. Their children met them at the door - barefooted, shabby, motley andunkempt. But what could one expect? Jan E. Matzelinger invented theShoe Lasting Machine, Walter Sammons invented the Comb, Sarah Booneinvented the Ironing Board, and George T. Samon invented the Clothes Dryer.

11. Finally, they were resigned to at least have dinner amidst all ofthis turmoil. But here again, the food had spoiled because another BlackMan, John Standard invented the refrigerator...Now, isn't that something? What would this country be like without thecontributions of Blacks, as African-Americans? Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'by the time we leave for work, millions of Americans have depended on the inventions from the minds of Blacks.

This is a short edit from a longer speech given by Dr. Luck Wilson (formerly of Norfolk State University) at the Chesapeake Virginia of the NAACP annual Jubilee held on 01/05/1997. This section gives a narrative that describes being on a train and taking notice of the inventions created by Americans of African descent.

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