Thomas L. Jennings, First African American to Receive a Patent | Post News Group

Tamara Shiloh, Post News Group [dropcap]Patents[/dropcap] are important offi­cial documents as they are used to safeguard one’s inventions. The first U.S. patent was issued in 1790. But it wasn’t until March 3, 1821, that a patent was issued to an African American: Thomas L. Jennings. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] Jennings, born free in 1791, was awarded the […]

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The Forgotten All-Star Game That Helped Integrate Baseball | Deadspin

When Cleveland celebrated its sixth time hosting MLB’s All-Star Game last week, it might have seemed an odd event to commemorate baseball’s integration. But when Jackie Robinson stepped onto the field in a Brooklyn Dodgers uniform in April of 1947, becoming the first African-American to play in white organized baseball since the 19th century, it […]

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Former Apollo trainee’s career took off in a different direction | The Washington Post

Rick Snider, The Washington Post Ed Dwight was the first black trainee in the Apollo space program. He later became a sculptor. (Matthew Staver/For The Washington Post). Featured Image [dropcap]Ed[/dropcap] Dwight never reached the moon as an astronaut, but his use of negative space in sculptures made him an international star. [mc4wp_form id=”6042″] As NASA […]

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What Canada and South Africa can teach the U.S. about slavery reparations | The Conversation

Bonny Ibhawoh, The Conversation Author Ta-Nehisi Coates, left, and actor Danny Glover, right, testify about reparation for the descendants of slaves during a hearing before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Capitol Hill on June 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais). Featured Image [dropcap]A[/dropcap]merica’s failure to understand, acknowledge and resolve the continuing catastrophe of slavery is […]

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Their Family Bought Land One Generation After Slavery. The Reels Brothers Spent Eight Years in Jail for Refusing to Leave It. | ProPublica

By Lizzie Presser, ProPublica IN THE SPRING OF 2011, the brothers Melvin Davis and Licurtis Reels were the talk of Carteret County, on the central coast of North Carolina. Some people said that the brothers were righteous; others thought that they had lost their minds. That March, Melvin and Licurtis stood in court and refused to […]

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