Start where you are, with what you have. Make something of it and never be satisfied
~George Washington Carver
Another day another opportunity to learn US history. 
This week I've decided to focus on a Black inventor who's name is not well-known. George Washington Carver was the only name I could think of, and one is definitely too small a number in 2019. I remember being told once (or many times, I've forgotten) that a Black man was the one who invented traffic lights, and also being told that I was lied to, so let’s begin there. His name is Garrett Morgan (1877-1963), and he was born the son of a former slave and the grandson of a Confederate colonel. He was a master inventor, creating the first chemical hair straightener for Black hair (a.k.a. relaxer), a sewing machine, the predecessor to the gas mask, and the traffic light.
Fact or Fiction
According to LiveScience, Garrett Morgan did not invent the first traffic light, that honor goes to Lester Farnsworth Wire, whose creation looked like a birdhouse on a pole, that was placed right in the middle of an intersection. You may remember this from old cartoons like "Pink Panther" where an officer stands in the middle of the street, blowing a whistle, pulling a lever to change the colors from red to green. Although, this honor should also go to multiple other inventors, I believe because all of these inventions had to start somewhere. This tale begins on the British railroads, where train traffic needed to be better controlled, then continues in America, where various variations of the stoplight, or traffic light, were patented.
I want to give credit where credit is due, so Garrett Morgan did indeed create the traffic light, the one that we know and love today. You see, the stop-go method left when and how soon to stop to the driver’s discretion. Depending on the speed of the car, someone could be left in the intersection, while another car hits the gas. The "three color system" was invented three years before Morgan's invention, but this doesn't take away from its importance, since Morgan was the one who decided it best to stop all lanes of traffic before giving a lane the green light. This allowed better control of the flow of traffic, and made intersections significantly safer. His invention was also far cheaper to manufacture and once he sold it to General Electric, thousands were able to mass produced across the country.
Dreams not Differed
The tale of the traffic light is enjoyable to read, but unfortunately the process to gain recognition for his inventions became far more difficult once it was uncovered by the media (newspapers) that Garrett Morgan was a Black man (the horror!). While his ads for “hair straightener creams” and combs made sure to include his picture (a largely Black audience), he hired a white actor to pretend to be him when convincing white patrons to take his next invention seriously. Worried for the safety of firemen who inhaled smoke and ash from fires, he created a special breathing masks that blocked the smoke, preventing pollutants from floating into their lungs.
Sources
Biography.com Editors. “Garrett Morgan Biography”. Biography.com. Biography.com website. 15 January 2019. February 13, 2019. Web. <https://www.biography.com/people/garrett-morgan-9414691>.
“Garrett Augustus Morgan”. Who Made America?. PBS. [2004?]. February 13, 2019. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/morgan_hi.html>.
History.com Editors. “Garrett Morgan Patents Three-Position Traffic Signal”. HISTORY. 13 December 2018. February 12, 2019. Web. <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/garrett-morgan-patents-three-position-traffic-signal>.
Mark Traffic. “Traffic Lights Invented by William M. Potts”. Mark Traffic: All That is Mobile. 16 October 2010. February 13, 2019. Web. <http://www.marktraffic.com/traffic-lights-invented-by-william-l-potts.php>.
Moss, LeAnn. “45 Quotes from Black Leaders on Mindset, Progress, and Making an Impact”. Bossedup. Bossedup.org, Feb 2018. February 8, 2019. Web. <https://bossedup.org/45-quotes-from-black-leaders-on-mindset-progress-and-making-an-impact/>. Ross, Rachel. “Who Invented the Traffic Light?”. Live Science. LiveScience.com. 16 December 2016. February 13, 2019. Web. <https://www.livescience.com/57231-who-invented-the-traffic-light.html>.
Fact or Fiction
According to LiveScience, Garrett Morgan did not invent the first traffic light, that honor goes to Lester Farnsworth Wire, whose creation looked like a birdhouse on a pole, that was placed right in the middle of an intersection. You may remember this from old cartoons like "Pink Panther" where an officer stands in the middle of the street, blowing a whistle, pulling a lever to change the colors from red to green. Although, this honor should also go to multiple other inventors, I believe because all of these inventions had to start somewhere. This tale begins on the British railroads, where train traffic needed to be better controlled, then continues in America, where various variations of the stoplight, or traffic light, were patented.
I want to give credit where credit is due, so Garrett Morgan did indeed create the traffic light, the one that we know and love today. You see, the stop-go method left when and how soon to stop to the driver’s discretion. Depending on the speed of the car, someone could be left in the intersection, while another car hits the gas. The "three color system" was invented three years before Morgan's invention, but this doesn't take away from its importance, since Morgan was the one who decided it best to stop all lanes of traffic before giving a lane the green light. This allowed better control of the flow of traffic, and made intersections significantly safer. His invention was also far cheaper to manufacture and once he sold it to General Electric, thousands were able to mass produced across the country.
Dreams not Differed
The tale of the traffic light is enjoyable to read, but unfortunately the process to gain recognition for his inventions became far more difficult once it was uncovered by the media (newspapers) that Garrett Morgan was a Black man (the horror!). While his ads for “hair straightener creams” and combs made sure to include his picture (a largely Black audience), he hired a white actor to pretend to be him when convincing white patrons to take his next invention seriously. Worried for the safety of firemen who inhaled smoke and ash from fires, he created a special breathing masks that blocked the smoke, preventing pollutants from floating into their lungs.
He dreams were not deterred nor differed, and he continued to live his life with pride in himself, and eventually, was given the respect he always deserved. I hope you enjoyed learning about such a unique man today, and are inspired by both the joyous and sad times in his life. Don’t forget to leave a comment down below!
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| Gif Source |
Biography.com Editors. “Garrett Morgan Biography”. Biography.com. Biography.com website. 15 January 2019. February 13, 2019. Web. <https://www.biography.com/people/garrett-morgan-9414691>.
“Garrett Augustus Morgan”. Who Made America?. PBS. [2004?]. February 13, 2019. Web. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/morgan_hi.html>.
History.com Editors. “Garrett Morgan Patents Three-Position Traffic Signal”. HISTORY. 13 December 2018. February 12, 2019. Web. <https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/garrett-morgan-patents-three-position-traffic-signal>.
Mark Traffic. “Traffic Lights Invented by William M. Potts”. Mark Traffic: All That is Mobile. 16 October 2010. February 13, 2019. Web. <http://www.marktraffic.com/traffic-lights-invented-by-william-l-potts.php>.
Moss, LeAnn. “45 Quotes from Black Leaders on Mindset, Progress, and Making an Impact”. Bossedup. Bossedup.org, Feb 2018. February 8, 2019. Web. <https://bossedup.org/45-quotes-from-black-leaders-on-mindset-progress-and-making-an-impact/>. Ross, Rachel. “Who Invented the Traffic Light?”. Live Science. LiveScience.com. 16 December 2016. February 13, 2019. Web. <https://www.livescience.com/57231-who-invented-the-traffic-light.html>.
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