Community News
Yahoo search engines, elevator doors, refrigerated trucks Another look at African inventors
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
I received an email from a member of our Toronto Caribbean Community gently telling me that he enjoyed my article about African Inventors, but he did not think that I had dug deep enough.
Since then, this gentleman has been sharing information with me, and I must say, I have learned a lot from him. You see, that is what it is all about learning from our elders and passing this knowledge down to the next generation. It is the only way that they are going to know that we as a people have produced great work; work that can never be duplicated, but most definitely can be added on too.
Ready to take a trip down the scientific highway? Let’s begin.
Philip Emeagwali
Father of the internet
He is known as the Second Greatest Genius in Mathematics, the Third Greatest Genius Alive, he was voted “Father of the Modern Computer,” and holds the title of the Greatest Scientist of African Descent Ever.
Philip Emeagwali was born in 1954 in Nigeria. At a very young age, his genius was recognized, and he was nicknamed “Calculus” by schoolmates. At age 14, he had mastered calculus, and could out-calculate his instructors.
Unfortunately, he had to drop out of school because his family could not afford to send all eight children. This did not stop Philip. He continued studying on his own. At the age of 17, he was awarded a full scholarship to Oregon State University where he majored in math. Upon graduation, he attended George Washington University and was awarded two engineering master’s degrees: one in civil engineering and the other in marine engineering. He didn’t stop there. He also received a master’s in mathematics from the University of Maryland, and completed his doctorate from the University of Michigan in civil engineering (National Society of Black Physicists)
Some of his greatest scientific achievements include:
- Designing the program and formula for the fastest computer on earth, the Connection Machine. His design allows us to search the internet to our hearts desire.
- Designed equations to explain how sperm swim, how polluted groundwater flows, how the earth’s interior moves and causes volcanic eruptions, and how to recover petroleum safer and in larger quantities.
As many great Africans before him, Emeagwali utilized nature as the inspiration for the Connection Machine. He remembered observing bees in nature. He saw their way of working together and communicating with each other was more efficient than trying to accomplish tasks separately. He wanted to make computers emulate the construction and operation of a beehive’s honeycomb.
Dr. Marian Rogers Croak
The highest female patent holder at AT&T
If you are a reality show watcher (America’s Got Talent, Big Brother), and have ever voted for your favourite person to win, you have our next scientist to thank for that.
Marian Rogers Croak grew up in New York City. She attended Princeton University and completed her doctoral studies at the University of Southern California in 1982, specializing in social psychology and quantitative analysis.
She is currently the highest female patent holder at AT&T with 127 patents (and counting). Her work helped change the way we integrate communication capabilities into our daily lives. She made it possible for TV viewers to interact with reality shows via voting, enabled by text messages.
The importance of this invention was first noted, shortly after Hurricane Katrina battered the coast in August 2005. Dr. Croak envisioned an alternate use for this technology–one that would enable people to efficiently donate money for charitable groups responding to natural disasters. She developed the technology that enables us to text a designated number to make a donation to an organization such as the Red Cross. The usefulness of this technology was again recognized after the 2010 earthquake hit Haiti. The American Red Cross raised more than $32 million via individual $10 donations from people who texted the word “Haiti” to 90999 (blackengineer.com).
She was inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame in 2013 and was named the 2014 Black Engineer of the Year award and Fierce Wireless Most Influential Women in Wireless.
Not too long after she left AT&T to join Google, where she serves as a Vice President for Engineering. She serves on the board of directors of the Centre for Holocausts, Human Rights & Genocide Education. Her proudest achievements are her three adult children (two sons and a daughter).
Frederick McKinley Jones
The Thermo King
Have you ever wondered how they transport items that have to stay cold from one location to the other? Your first answer would be “Duh Simone! In those refrigerated trucks.” Great! The question is, who thought of doing that?
Our next inventor is a great example of why our circumstances do not make us. Frederick McKinley Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 17th, 1893 to a white father and black mother. His mother deserted him when he was a young child, which left his father struggling to raise him on his own. At the age of seven, he was sent to live with a priest in Kentucky. Two years later, his father died. This left Frederick as an orphan, and at the age of 11, with minimal education under his belt, Jones ran away to fend for himself (https://www.biography.com/).
By the time he was twenty, Jones was able to secure an engineering license in Minnesota. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I, and his natural ability to repair machines was recognized. He was often called upon to make repairs to machines and other equipment.
In the 1930s, he designed and patented a portable air-cooling unit for trucks carrying perishable food. Forming a partnership with Numero, Jones founded the U.S. Thermo Control Company (Thermo King). His invention was the roof-mounted cooling system that’s used to refrigerate goods on trucks during extended transportation the company grew exponentially during World War II, helping to preserve blood, medicine and food. By 1949, U.S. Thermo Control was worth millions of dollars (https://www.biography.com/).
In 1944, Frederick became the first African American elected to the American Society of Refrigeration Engineers. He died of lung cancer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 21st, 1961.
Bessie Blount
Steadfast and Strong-willed
Bessie Blount was often slapped on the knuckles for being born left-handed, and because of that, she was forced into using her right hand. Her strong will made her take a stand; if she shouldn’t write left-handed, she shouldn’t write with her right. So, she taught herself to write with a pencil in her mouth, and to write with her toes. It was a skill that would be helpful in training amputees to write without their hands.
Born in Hickory, Virginia in 1914, Bessie was always interested in a career in medicine. She moved from Virginia to New Jersey where she studied to be a physical therapist at the Panzar College of Physical Education and at Union Junior College. She decided to further her training as a physical therapist in Chicago.
At the end of World War II, Bessie was a practicing physical therapist, and many of her patients were amputees from the front lines. Remembering what she had practiced as a young child, Bessie taught the amputees how to use their feet instead of their hands to do some basic tasks. The one difficulty was eating. Blount saw this as an opportunity to try to invent something to help these men regain some independence and lift their spirits.
In 1951, she designed her first invention, a patented feeding tube that allowed amputees to feed themselves. The electrical device allowed a tube to deliver one mouthful of food at a time to a patient in a wheelchair or in a bed whenever he or she bit down on the tube. She presented her feeding tube to the American Veteran’s Administration, but they were not interested. She patented a simpler device called a “portable receptacle support” which also allowed people to feed themselves.
She later discovered the need for an emesis basin. She came up with the idea of a disposable cardboard emesis (vomit) basin. She baked a mixture of newspaper, flour and water in her oven to make the basin. Once again, she presented her idea to the American Veteran’s Administration, and they showed no interest. Remaining strong willed, Bessie sold her patented equipment to Belgium. To this day Bessie Blount’s vomit basin design is commonly found in hospitals in Belgium.
Alexander Miles
Thank God for Elevators
We can all say that we are grateful for the invention of the elevator. If it had not been invented, we would probably all be in much better shape because we would have to commit to long and gruelling climbs up flights of stairs. However, before the creation of elevator doors that close automatically, riding an elevator (then called a lift) was both complicated and risky.
Before automatic doors, people had to manually shut both the shaft and elevator doors before riding. If someone forgot to do this, it led to multiple accidents as people would fall down elevator shafts. Alexander Miles had a personal experience with this when his daughter almost fatally fell down the shaft. He took it upon himself to develop a solution. In 1887 he took out a patent for a mechanism that automatically opens and closes elevator shaft doors and to this day, we have him to thank for the opening and closing of elevator doors.
What he did was attach a flexible belt to the elevator cage, and when the belt came into contact with drums positioned along the elevator shaft just above and below the floors, it allowed the elevator shaft doors to operate at the appropriate times (http://www.myblackhistory.net/). The elevator doors themselves were automated through a series of levers and rollers.
In 1900, it was believed that Alexander Miles was the “wealthiest African man in the Northwest.” Alexander Miles died sometime after 1905 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007.
There you have it. As a people, Africans have donated their expertise and talents to the world, and we must continue to share this information with our young people so that they know that anything, and everything is possible.
References
Biography.com
https://www.biography.com/
National Society of Black Physicists
https://www.nsbp.org/
My Black History
http://www.myblackhistory.net/
United States Black Engineers
blackengineer.com
BY KHADIJA KARIM
Have you ever forgotten someone’s name, or where you left your phone and thought, “Why can’t I remember anything?” Forgetting might feel frustrating, but it turns out that forgetting things can actually be good for you. Experts believe forgetting might be an important part of human survival and could even have benefits.
You probably think that remembering everything would be better, right? If you remembered every tiny detail, like what you had for breakfast three weeks ago, or the colour of every car you saw today, you would be overwhelmed. Our brains are constantly receiving information, and if we didn’t forget some of it, we wouldn’t be able to focus on what really matters at that time.
Forgetting helps you clear out information you don’t need, and it helps your brain remember the most useful memories. Think about how hard it would be to focus on important things if your mind was filled with random thoughts. Forgetting helps you stay focused and keeps your mind from getting lost.
So, why would evolution make us forget things? Early humans had to deal with dangerous environments that changed quickly. They needed to remember things that helped them survive, like where to find food, or how to avoid predators. They didn’t need to remember every small detail, like what happened last week. Forgetting information, they didn’t need allowed them to make quick decisions based on what was most important at that moment in time.
For example, if you remember a recent storm, you might make sure to stay inside or find shelter. If you remembered every storm you’d ever seen, it would be harder to make decisions about the present. Forgetting irrelevant details helps you stay on your feet and helps you react faster to new situations. This ability to forget likely helped early humans survive and make better decisions in their everyday lives.
Next time you forget something, don’t be too hard on yourself! Forgetting is a natural part of how our brains work and can actually help you stay focused on the important things. It might seem annoying at times, but it’s helping you make better decisions. Forgetting isn’t just something to be annoyed about, it’s a smart way to survive in a world that’s always changing!
Community News
Blink equity dives deep into the gap between people of colour and decision-making roles in Canadian law firms
BY ADRIAN REECE
Representation in the workforce has been a topic of conversation for years, particularly in positions of influence, where people can shift laws and create fair policies for all races. Representation in the legal system is an even more talked about subject, with many Black men being subjected to racism in courts and not being given fair sentencing by judges.
The fear of Black men entering the system is something that plagues mothers and fathers as they watch their children grow up.
Blink Equity, a company led by Pako Tshiamala, has created an audit called the Blink Score. This audit targets law firms and seeks to identify specific practices reflecting racial diversity among them in Toronto. A score is given based on a few key performance indicators. These KPIs include hiring practices, retention of diverse talent, and racial representation at every level.
The Blink Score project aims to analyze law firms in Ontario with more than 50 lawyers. The Blink Score is a measurement tool that holds law firms accountable for their representation. Firms will be ranked, and the information will be made public for anyone to access.
This process is ambitious and seeks to give Canadian citizens a glimpse into how many people are represented across the legal field. While more and more people have access to higher education, there is still a gap between obtaining that higher education and working in a setting where change can be made. The corporate world, at its highest points, is almost always one race across the board, and very rarely do people of colour get into their ranks. They are made out to be an example of how anyone from a particular race can achieve success. However, this is the exception, not the rule. Nepotism plays a role in societal success; connections are a factor, and loyalty to race, even if people are acquainted.
People of colour comprise 16% of the total lawyers across the province. Positions at all levels range from 6% to 27%. These numbers display the racial disparity among law practitioners in positions of influence. Becoming a lawyer is undoubtedly a huge accomplishment. Still, when entering the workforce with other seasoned professionals, your academic accolades become second to your professional achievements and your position in the company.
What do these rankings ultimately mean? A potential for DEI-inclusive practices, perhaps? That isn’t something that someone would want in this kind of profession. This kind of audit also opens law firms up to intense criticism from people who put merit above all other aspects of professional advancement. On the other hand, there is a potential for firms to receive clientele based on their blink score, with higher ones having the chance to bring in more race-based clients who can help that law firm grow.
It is only the beginning, and changes will undoubtedly be made in the legal field as Blink Equity continues to dive deep into the gap between people of colour and decision-making roles in these law firms. This audit has the power to shift the power scale, and place people of colour in higher positions. There are hierarchies in any profession, and while every Lawyer is qualified to do what they are trained to do, it is no shock that some are considerably better than others at their jobs. The ones who know how to use this audit to their advantage will rise above the others and create a representative image for themselves among their population.
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
We are living in a world where promises of health and safety came packaged in a tiny vial, one injection was promoted by powerful governments, supported by respected institutions, and championed by legacy media worldwide. Sadly, beneath the surface, a darker truth emerged.
Reports from around the globe began to tell a different story—one that was not covered in the news cycles or press conferences. Families torn apart by unexpected losses, communities impacted in ways that few could have foreseen, and millions questioning what they had been told to believe.
Those who dared to question were silenced or dismissed (the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper being one of those sources). “Trust the science,” we were told. “It’s for the greater good.” As time went on, the truth became impossible to ignore.
Now, I bring more news to light—information that demands your attention and scrutiny. The time to passively listen has passed; this is the moment to understand what’s really at stake.
I reviewed an interview with Naomi Wolf, journalist and CEO of Daily Clout, which detailed the serious vaccine-related injuries that Pfizer and the FDA knew of by early 2021, but tried to hide from the public. I was introduced to “The Pfizer Papers: Pfizer’s Crimes Against Humanity.” What I learned is that Pfizer knew about the inadequacies of its COVID-19 vaccine trials and the vaccine’s many serious adverse effects, and so did the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA promoted the vaccines anyway — and later tried to hide the data from the public.
To produce “The Pfizer Papers,” Naomi, and Daily Clout Chief Operations Officer Amy Kelly convened thousands of volunteer scientists and doctors to analyze Pfizer data and supplementary data from other public reporting systems to capture the full scope of the vaccines’ effects. They obtained the data from the Public Health and Medical Professionals for Transparency, a group of more than 30 medical professionals and scientists who sued the FDA in 2021 and forced the agency to release the data, after the FDA refused to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request.
It was then that the federal court ordered the agency to release 450,000 internal documents pertaining to the licensing of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The data release was significantly and the documents so highly technical and scientific that according to Naomi, “No journalist could have the bandwidth to go through them all.”
The “Pfizer Papers” analysts found over 42,000 case reports detailing 158,893 adverse events reported to Pfizer in the first three months The centerpiece of “The Pfizer Papers” is the effect that the vaccine had on human reproduction. The papers reveal that Pfizer knew early on that the shots were causing menstrual issues. The company reported to the FDA that 72% of the recorded adverse events were in women. Of those, about 16% involved reproductive disorders and functions. In the clinical trials, thousands of women experienced: daily bleeding, hemorrhaging, and passing of tissue, and many other women reported that their menstrual cycle stopped completely.
Pfizer was aware that lipid nanoparticles from the shots accumulated in the ovaries and crossed the placental barrier, compromising the placenta and keeping nutrients from the baby in utero. According to the data, babies had to be delivered early, and women were hemorrhaging in childbirth.
Let us take us to another part of the world, where research has been done on other pharmaceutical companies. A group of Argentine scientists identified 55 chemical elements — not listed on package inserts — in the: Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, CanSino, Sinopharm and Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines (according to a study published last week in the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research).
The samples also contained 11 of the 15 rare earth elements (they are heavier, silvery metals often used in manufacturing). These chemical elements, which include lanthanum, cerium and gadolinium, are lesser known to the general public than heavy metals, but have been shown to be highly toxic. By the end of 2023, global researchers had identified 24 undeclared chemical elements in the COVID-19 vaccine formulas.
Vaccines often include excipients — additives used as preservatives, adjuvants, stabilizers, or for other purposes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), substances used in the manufacture of a vaccine, but not listed in the contents of the final product should be listed somewhere in the package insert. Why is this important? Well, researchers argue it is because excipients can include allergens and other “hidden dangers” for vaccine recipients.
In one lot of the AstraZeneca vaccine, researchers identified 15 chemical elements, of which 14 were undeclared. In the other lot, they detected 21 elements of which 20 were undeclared. In the CanSino vial, they identified 22 elements, of which 20 were undeclared.
The three Pfizer vials contained 19, 16 and 21-23 undeclared elements respectively. The Moderna vials contained 21 and between 16-29 undeclared elements. The Sinopharm vials contained between 17-23 undeclared elements and the Sputnik V contained between 19-25 undetected elements.
“All of the heavy metals detected are linked to toxic effects on human health,” the researchers wrote. Although the metals occurred in different frequencies, many were present across multiple samples.
I am not going to go any further with this; I think you get the picture. We have been sold wolf cookies, very dangerous ones. These pharmaceutical companies must be held accountable. I am proud of anyone who has gone after them for retribution, and have received it. Regardless, in many ways, there is no repayment for a healthy life.
REFERENCES:
https://ijvtpr.com/index.php/IJVTPR/article/view/111
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender_category/toxic-exposures/
Pfizer’s ‘Crimes Against Humanity’ — and Legacy Media’s Failure to Report on Them
55 Undeclared Chemical Elements — Including Heavy Metals — Found in COVID Vaccines
FDA Should Need Only ‘12 Weeks’ to Release Pfizer Data, Not 75 Years, Plaintiff Calculates
Judge Gives FDA 8 Months, Not 75 Years, to Produce Pfizer Safety Data
Most Studies Show COVID Vaccine Affects Menstrual Cycles, BMJ Review Finds
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