Did You Know Their Career Story?
“Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; A Future to Build.”
On this Leap Year Day, and in honour of Black History Month, am sharing some nuggets that I am sure many of you did not know.
Last Sunday, I delivered a longer version of this presentation at my church. The best part of it was having five young people (from Grades 7-10) read the brief bios of some incredible Black individuals.
🚀Not only was it my intention to educate them and the congregation about the contributions of many of these Black pioneers, but it was also to help them see 👀 possibilities, enhance their public speaking skills and build their self-confidence!
👉🏽Sometimes we take certain things for granted; never questioning how they came about and who invented or improved upon them.
👉🏽Sometimes you even learn some new things yourself. For e.g., I didn’t know that the late Dr. Patricia Bath invented the Laserphaco Probe to treat cataract!
Included in this document are career snippets about these individuals:
✔️Hon. Jean Augustine – introduced the motion in the Federal Parliament for Black History Month to be recognized Canada-wide
✔️Hon. Lincoln Macauley Alexander – First Black Canadian to be a Member of the House of Commons
✔️William Peyton Hubbard – Co-founder of Hydro One
✔️The Coloured Hockey League – All-Black hockey team started in the Maritimes in 1895. Canada post honoured the League with a stamp in 2020
✔️Herb Carnegie – known as the “Best hockey player who never played in the NHL”. Was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.
✔️Dr. Anderson Ruffin-Abbot – First Canadian-born Black man to become a licensed physician. Was a member of President Lincoln’s medical team.
✔️Henry Thomas Shepherd – Born near Georgetown, served with the Lorne Scots. Was one of 150 Black Canadian soldiers who served in the First World War.
✔️Dr. Gladys West – Mathematician Dr. West was inducted into the Space and Missiles Pioneers Hall of Fame and formally recognized for her contribution to the development of the Global Positioning System (GPS).
✔️Lonnie Johnson – US Air Force Engineer invented the Super Soaker in 1989.
✔️Garret Morgan – invented the ‘amber’ light in traffic signals that worked as a warning light. He later sold his Patent to General Electric.
It’s important to go beyond the Underground Railroad story, and learn about the careers of these and many other Black people who made an indelible mark on society.
And now you know their stories!
