"Author Unknown"
This is a story of a little boy named Theo, who woke up one morning and
asked his mother: what if there were no black people in the world? Well, his
mother thought about that for a moment, and then said: son, follow me around
today, and let's just see what it would be like if there were no black
people in the world. Now go and get dressed and we'll get started.

Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took one
look at his room and said: Theo, where are your shoes? And your clothes are
all wrinkled son, I must iron them. But when she reached for the ironing
board, it was no longer there. You see Sarah Boone, a black woman  invented
the ironing board and Jan E. Matzelinger, a black man, invented the shoe
lasting machine.

Oh, well, she said, please go and do something to your hair. Theo ran to his
room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there. You see, Walter Sammons,
a black man, invented the comb. Theo decided to just brush his hair. But the
brush was gone. You see, Lyndia O. Newman, a black woman invented the hair
brush.

Well, this was a sight: no shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess, even Mom's
hair. Without the hair care inventions of Madame C.J. Walker. . . Well you
get the piture, Mom told Theo.

Mom asked Theo to go around and get a pencil and some paper to prepare the
list for the market. So Theo ran for the paper and pencil, but noticed that
the pencil lead was brpken. Well, he was out of luck because John Love, a
black man, invented the pencil sharpener. Mom then reached for the pen but
it was not there, because William Purvis, a black man, invented the fountain
pen.

As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge invented the typewriting machine, and W.A.
Lovette, invented the advanced printing press.

Theo and his mother decided to jead out to the market. Well, when Theo
opened the door, he noticed that the grass was as high as he was tall. You
see, the lawn mover was invented by Jon Burr, a black man.

They made their way to the car, and found that it would not go. You see
Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic gear shift, and Joseph
Gammel, invented the supercharge system for internal combusstion engines.
They nopticed that the few cars that were moving, were running into each
other and having wrecks, because there were no traffic signals. You see
Garret A. Morgan, a black man, invenmted traffic lights.

Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their groceries
and returned home. Just when they were about to put away the milk, eggs, and
butter, they noticed that the refrigerator was gone. . .You see John
Standard, a black man, invented the refrigerator. So they left the food on
the counter.

By this time, Theo noticed that he was getting mighty cold. Mom went to turn
on the heat, and what do you know, Alice Parker, a black woman, invented the
heating furnace. Even in the summertime, they would have been out of luck,
because Frederick Jones, a black man invented the air conditioner.

It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home. He usually takes the
bus. But there was no bus, because its precursor, the electric trolly, was
invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson.

He usually takes the elevator from his office on the 20th floor, but there
was no elevator, because Alexander Miles, a black man, invented the
elevator.

He usually drops off the office mail at a nearby mail box, but it was no
longer there, because Phillips Dawning, a black man, invented the letter
drop mailbox and William Barry, another black man, invented the post marking
and canceling machine.

Theo and his mother sat at the table, with their heads in their hands. When
Theo's father asked: why are you sitting in the dark? Why? Because Lewis
Howard Latimer, a black man, invented the filament within the light bulb.

Theo quickly learned what it would be like if there were no black people in
the world. Not to mention if he were ever sick and needed blood, because
Charles Drew, a Black scientist, discovered the way to preserve and store
blood, which lead to the first blood bank.

And what if a family member had to have heart surgery, this would not have
been possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a Black doctor, who
performed the first open heart surgery.

So if you ever wonder, like Theo, where would we be without Black people?
Well, it's pretty plain to see. We would still be in the dark.




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