On the Did you know Segment… Sunni and Lisa are recognizing and celebrating Black|African American History Month by sharing stories of inventors of everyday items! On this episode it’s the light bulb! Yup! According to history.com - The light bulb itself was invented by Thomas Edison, but the innovation used to create longer-lasting light bulbs with a carbon filament came from African American inventor Lewis Latimer. Latimer, the son of formerly enslaved people, began work in a patent law firm after serving in the military for the Union during the Civil War.
Mr. Latimer’s successes would garner him further attention from the the U.S. Electric Lighting Company, putting him at a company in direct competition with Edison, in 1880. While there, Latimer patented a new filament for the light bulb, using carbon instead of more incendiary materials, like bamboo, that were commonly used for filaments. The addition of the carbon filament increased the life span and practicality of light bulbs, which had previously died after just a few days. In 1884, he went on to work with Edison at the Edison Electric Light Company. Who knew?!
On this episode of Active Allyship…it’s more than a #hashtag! Sunni and Lisa discover the ABC’s of Black History with author Rio Cortez. Ms. Rio is multi-talented artist, she’s a writer, poet and is Pushcart Prize - nominated. She has appeared in Mother magazine, The Miami Rail, The Los Angeles Review, and many other publications.
Sunni asks Ms. Rio what she was marinated in… she the uniqueness of her experience growing up in Salt Lake City Utah. Her family was the first founding black family in the state of Utah after the reconstruction - a very unique experience indeed.
You have got to get this book for your kids (honestly, it’s for adults too)! What an amazing tribute to the history and contributions of African Americans! This book illuminates the global Black experience. Sunni could hardly contain herself, reading aloud, secretly wishing she had a room full of young kids to read to! Lisa’s daughter was mesmerized by the book, opting for it over television! O wait, the illustrations, the spectrum of Blackness… phenomenal! You’ve got to see it! And the story of how Ms. Rio met the illustrator Ms. Lauren Semmer… uncanny! People and topics are covered from A-Z, seriously. You’ve gotta listen…no more clues!
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