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When You Think About Fresh Pressed Juices & Smoothies: Think About Black Inventor Madeline M. Turner

Black History – Special Delivery!!

Madeline M. Turner invented Turner’s Fruit Press.  Her invention is believed to be the original blueprint and design on which many modern juicers are based.  Turner was inspired to create her juice press one morning when she struggled to hand squeeze a cup of orange juice. 

Turner’s invention helped pave the way for “juicing” to become a lucrative business endeavor. She was granted a patent for her fruit press machine on April 25, 1916 (U.S. Patent #: 1,180,959). Her invention was praised as “ingenious” due to its ease of use and its easy to clean design.  Norman Walker, a white businessman, is credited with inventing the first mechanical juice maker in the 1930s. However, Turner’s invention preceded his by nearly 20 years! The invention was first debuted in San Diego, CA.  From 1948 to 2014, seven other patents have referenced her invention and patent. In 2020, the juice and smoothie industry boasted a revenue of $2.6 billion!

Continue reading “When You Think About Fresh Pressed Juices & Smoothies: Think About Black Inventor Madeline M. Turner” →
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Nikki Giovanni Quote

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Style has a profound meaning to Black Americans. If we can’t drive, we will invent walks and the world will envy the dexterity of our feet. If we can’t have ham, we will boil chitterlings; if we are given rotten peaches, we will make cobblers; if given scraps, we will make quilts; take away our drums, and we will clap our hands. We prove the human spirit will prevail. We will take what we have to make what we need. We need confidence in our knowledge of who we are.

-Nikki Giovanni
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Bisa Butler: The Artistry Displayed Through Her Quilts Will Amaze You!!

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Electric-Relaxation

Artist Bisa Bulter brings together artistry and creativity through her quilts.  Made from bold and vibrant patterns her quilts portray people from all walks of life. Bisa Bulter was born in Orange, NJ. She was the youngest of four siblings. Her artistic talents became apparent early. At age four she won a blue ribbon in the Plainfield Sidewalk art competition. At age five, she was named the “artist of the month” at her nursery school. Continue reading “Bisa Butler: The Artistry Displayed Through Her Quilts Will Amaze You!!” →

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Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb: First African American Woman in the U.S. To Receive A Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

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Dr. Alfreda Johnson-Webb (1923 – 1992)

Alfreda Johnson Webb (1923-1992) was born in Mobile, Alabama.  She earned a bachelors of science degree from Tuskegee Institute (now University).  Webb also obtained a masters degree in anatomy from Michigan State University.  She then attended Tuskegee’s Institute’s College of Veterinary Medicine in 1949.  Webb was the first African American woman to graduate from a school of veterinary medicine.  She was also the first African American woman licensed to practice veterinary medicine in the U.S. Continue reading “Dr. Alfreda Johnson Webb: First African American Woman in the U.S. To Receive A Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine” →

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Mahalia Jackson: Serious About Securing The Bag!!

Black History: Special Delivery!!

“If you want me to sing this Christmas song with the feeling and the meaning, you better see if you can locate that check.”
-Mahalia Jackson

Mahaila Jackson (1927-1971) is celebrated as one of the greatest gospel singers of all time. She is referred to as “The Queen Of Gospel”. As a child, she shared a small “shotgun” house with 13 people. Raised by an aunt after the death of her mother, Jackson quit school in 4th grade to help out at home. Her amazing vocal skills were evident even when she was a young child. She moved to Chicago at age 16 looking for better opportunities. Instead, she found only low-income domestic work. While in Chicago she joined Greater Salem Baptist Church and began touring with the Johnson Brothers as a “fish and bread” singer (singing for donations). She would later sell 10 cent tickets for her performances and also found work singing at funerals and revivals. She promised to live a pure life and not use her vocal skills for secular entertainment….a promise she kept. Continue reading “Mahalia Jackson: Serious About Securing The Bag!!” →

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Harriet Tubman’s 1854 Christmas Eve Rescue

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Christmas Eve 1854 – Harriet Tubman returned to her Maryland home to free her brothers Ben and Henry. Her coded message: “Tell my brothers to be always watching unto prayer and when the good old ship of Zion comes along, to be ready to step on board.” This was the second time that she attempted to help them escape. The first time was 1849 when she escaped. Ben and Henry became scared and turned back.

Traveling more than 100 miles, they arrived at William Still’s Anti-Slavery office in Philadelphia on Dec. 29, 1854.

Sources:

http://www.harriet-tubman.org/escape/

http://www.harriettubmanbiography.com/harriet-tubman-s-flight-to-freedom.html

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TO WOMEN OF COLOR

Black History: Special Delivery!!

“To Women Of Color,

Our backs tell stories no books have the spine to carry.”

-Rupi Kaur

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The Legacy Of Ntozake Shange

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Author, poet, spoken-word artist, and playwright Ntozake Shange (pronounced en-toh-ZAH-kee SHAHN-gay) died on October 27, 2018. She was 70 years old. Shange is best known for her prolific play, “For Colored Girls Who Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf”.

At the time, the play was only the second by an African American woman on Broadway after, Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin In The Son”. Shange was just 27 years old when the play premiered. Over 750 Broadway performances were held.

Shange has been referred to by Maiysha Kai as, “One of the original conjurers of what we now know as black girl magic“. Born Paulette Williams in 1948, she eventually changed her name to Ntozake Shange to identify with her African roots. Ntozake translated, in Zulu means “she who comes with her own things.” Shange means, “she who walks like a lion.”

Shange graduated from Trenton High School in New Jersey. She also graduated from Barnard College and the University of Southern California, earning a master’s degree in American studies.

Sara Bellamy said of Shange, “Ntozake Shange invited us to marvel at the resiliency and power that women of color harness in order to survive a hostile world. She invited us to practice the ritual of loving ourselves.”

Certainly this queen used the power of her pen to elevate the voices and experiences of black women. May she rest in power!

Sources:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theglowup.theroot.com/in-memoriam-for-colored-girls-who-grew-up-on-ntozake-s-1830060936/amp

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“I AIN’T SCARED!” -Maxine Waters

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Congresswoman Maxine Waters has been one of several political and public figures to be sent exclusive device in the mail. Her response: “I AIN’T SCARED!!”

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