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Launched in 2015, Black Mail is your source for lesser-known black history facts. We celebrate history makers, movements, and moments that have shaped our world.
The Southern Manifesto: Attempt By Southern Politicians To Maintain Jim Crow Segregation
Reading time: 2 minutesIn 1956 Southern politicians, determined to keep Jim Crow Segregation in place, released the Southern Manifesto denouncing the Brown v.…
Dasia Taylor: Black Scientist Who Invented Dye For Sutures To Detect Infection
Reading time: 2 minutesIn 2019, at age 15, Black scientist and inventor Dasia Taylor invented a suture that changes color to reflect if…
Ranch Dressing: Recipe Invented By Black Rancher Steve Henson
Reading time: 2 minutesDid you know that a Black rancher from Nebraska, Steve Henson, invented ranch dressing? Click the link to learn more…
Haben Girma: First Deafblind Person To Graduate From Harvard Law School
Reading time: 2 minutesDisability rights advocate, attorney, and author Haben Girma is the first Deafblind person to graduate from Harvard Law School. Click…
Otis F. Boykin: Black Inventor Of The Wire Precision Resistor
Reading time: 2 minutesOtis Frank Boykin invented the wire precision resistor. His invention greatly reduced the cost of many electronic devices and improved…
John F. Pickering: Black Inventor Of An Air Ship (Blimp)
Reading time: 1 minutesOn February 20, 1900, Black inventor John F. Pickering was granted a patent for an "Air Ship" (blimp), significantly improving…
The Racial Wealth Gap
Reading time: 2 minutesRacial differences in household wealth between Black and White Americans represent historical and present-day inequities in the United States; signaling…
Powell Johnson: Protective Eyewear Inventor
Reading time: 1 minutesBlack inventor Powell Johnson is credited with developing the first known functional protective eyewear. Click the link to learn more…
The Three-Fifths Compromise: What It Actually Meant
Reading time: 2 minutesThe Three Fifths Compromise is sometimes mistakenly interpreted as indicating that enslaved Black Americans were considered to be only three-fifths…
The Biloxi Wade-Ins
Reading time: 3 minutesThe Biloxi Wade-In civil rights protests were held on the beaches of Biloxi Mississippi from 1959-1963. Click the link to…
Dennis Weatherby: Developer Of Cascade Dish Detergent Chemical Formula
Reading time: 2 minutesAfrican-American scientist Dennis W. Weatherby created the chemical formula for Cascade dish detergent. Click the link to learn more or…