Hidden Black History Facts

Blood Banks Created by Charles Drew

Original: Dr. Charles Drew

Wrongly credited to: Often attributed to the American Red Cross generally

Dr. Charles Drew, an African American surgeon, developed the techniques for storing and processing blood plasma that led to the creation of blood banks. His work saved countless lives during World War II through the 'Blood for Britain' project and later the American Red Cross Blood Bank. Tragically, the very blood banks he created enforced segregation policies, separating blood by race - a practice that had no scientific basis. Drew resigned in protest. He died in 1950 from injuries sustained in a car accident.

1940

The Moors Civilized Medieval Europe

Original: Moorish/African scholars and rulers

The Moors, Black African Muslims from North and West Africa, ruled the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years, bringing advanced mathematics, astronomy, medicine, architecture, and philosophy to medieval Europe. While Europe was in the 'Dark Ages,' Moorish Spain (Al-Andalus) had universities, libraries with hundreds of thousands of books, paved and lit streets, running water, and advanced medical facilities. The Moors introduced Arabic numerals, algebra, and the concept of zero to Europe. Their contributions laid the groundwork for the European Renaissance.

711-1492 CE

Peanut Butter and 300+ Other Inventions by George Washington Carver

Original: George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver developed over 300 products from peanuts, including dyes, plastics, and gasoline, as well as hundreds of products from sweet potatoes, pecans, and soybeans. While he is often credited only with 'peanut butter' (which existed before him in various forms), his true contribution was revolutionizing Southern agriculture by promoting crop rotation and developing alternative crops after the boll weevil devastated cotton farming. His work saved countless farmers from economic ruin and transformed agricultural science.

1900s

Simon of Cyrene Carried Jesus's Cross

Original: Simon of Cyrene

Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled to carry Jesus's cross to Golgotha (Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26), was from Cyrene, an ancient Greek colony in modern-day Libya, North Africa. Cyrene had a significant Jewish community, and Simon was likely a Black African Jew. His sons, Alexander and Rufus, became known in the early Christian church (Mark 15:21, Romans 16:13). Despite his crucial role in the Passion narrative, Simon is rarely depicted as African in Western religious art.

c. 30 CE

The Real 'Hidden Figures' of NASA

Original: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and many others

African American women mathematicians were crucial to NASA's early space program but were systematically excluded from recognition. Katherine Johnson calculated the trajectory for the first American in space (Alan Shepard) and the Apollo 11 moon landing. Dorothy Vaughan became NASA's first Black supervisor and taught herself and her staff FORTRAN programming. Mary Jackson became NASA's first Black female engineer. These 'human computers' worked in segregated facilities and were often denied credit for their calculations that literally put men in space.

1940s-1970s

The Super Soaker Was Invented by Lonnie Johnson

Original: Lonnie Johnson

Lonnie Johnson, an African American nuclear engineer who worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, invented the Super Soaker water gun in 1989. The invention came accidentally while he was working on a heat pump that used water instead of Freon. The Super Soaker became one of the best-selling toys in history, generating over $1 billion in sales. Johnson holds over 100 patents and has invented technologies used in spacecraft, including the Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Mars Observer.

1989

Queen of Sheba Was African

Original: Kingdom of Sheba (Ethiopia/Yemen)

The Queen of Sheba, who visited King Solomon (1 Kings 10, 2 Chronicles 9), was the ruler of an ancient African kingdom. Ethiopian tradition identifies her as Makeda, an Ethiopian queen, and claims the Ethiopian royal line descended from her son with Solomon, Menelik I. The Kingdom of Sheba (Saba) spanned modern-day Ethiopia and Yemen. Despite this, Western art has historically depicted her as white. Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) trace their ancestry to this union, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church considers this history foundational to their faith.

10th century BCE

Open Heart Surgery Pioneered by Daniel Hale Williams

Original: Dr. Daniel Hale Williams

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams performed the first successful open-heart surgery in 1893 at Provident Hospital in Chicago, which he founded. The patient, James Cornish, had been stabbed in the chest and was dying from a damaged blood vessel near his heart. Without X-rays, blood transfusions, or antibiotics, Dr. Williams opened Cornish's chest, repaired the pericardium, and the patient recovered fully, living for another 20 years. Despite this groundbreaking achievement, Williams received little recognition compared to white surgeons who performed similar procedures later.

1893

Ancient Egypt Was a Black African Civilization

Original: Ancient Kemetic/Egyptian peoples

Ancient Egypt, known to its people as Kemet ('Land of the Black People'), was a predominantly African civilization. Greek historians like Herodotus described Egyptians as having 'black skin and woolly hair.' The systematic re-categorization of Egypt as 'Middle Eastern' rather than African began in the 19th century during European colonization. DNA studies and archaeological evidence confirm the sub-Saharan African origins of ancient Egyptians. The Great Sphinx originally had African features before weathering and vandalism.

c. 3100 BCE - 30 BCE

The Real Inventor of the Light Bulb Filament

Original: Lewis Howard Latimer

Wrongly credited to: Thomas Edison (credited for the entire invention)

While Thomas Edison is credited with inventing the light bulb, his early bulbs only lasted a few hours. Lewis Howard Latimer, an African American inventor and engineer, developed the carbon filament that made light bulbs practical for everyday use, lasting much longer. Latimer patented the process for manufacturing carbon filaments in 1881. He was the only Black member of the 'Edison Pioneers,' the group of scientists who worked with Edison. Latimer also drafted the patent drawings for Alexander Graham Bell's telephone.

1881

Moses and the Israelites Were African

Original: Ancient Israelites / Egyptians

Historical and biblical evidence suggests that Moses and many ancient Israelites had African heritage. Moses was raised as an Egyptian prince and was able to pass as Egyptian (Exodus 2:19). The land of Egypt (Kemet) is in Africa. The Bible describes Moses's wife Zipporah as a Cushite/Ethiopian (Numbers 12:1). Ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyphics depict Egyptians with dark skin and African features. The systematic 'whitewashing' of biblical figures began during European colonization and the Atlantic slave trade to justify the dehumanization of African peoples.

Biblical Era (c. 1500-1200 BCE)

The Traffic Light Was Invented by Garrett Morgan

Original: Garrett Morgan

Wrongly credited to: William Potts (commonly credited)

Garrett Morgan, an African American inventor, patented the three-position traffic signal in 1923. Before his invention, traffic signals only had two positions (stop and go), causing dangerous situations when vehicles had to suddenly stop. Morgan's design added a third "warning" position, allowing drivers time to slow down. He later sold the patent to General Electric for $40,000. Morgan also invented the safety hood (precursor to gas masks) that he used to rescue workers from a tunnel explosion in Cleveland in 1916.

1923