Search

Black Mail Blog

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Open Search
Tag

Black History Blog

Alexander Miles: Black Inventor of Automatic Elevator Doors

Welcome To Black Mail!

Where we bring you Black History, Special Delivery.

Alexander Miles (1838-1918) invented the automatic elevator door. The invention was patented on October 11, 1887. Before his invention, using an elevator could be very dangerous because closing the doors was a manual process. Those who forgot to close the doors often risked falling down the elevator shaft, which could result in serious injury or even death. When his daughter was injured after falling into an elevator shaft, Miles was determined to create a solution. He created a mechanism that automatically opens and closes the elevator shaft doors, transforming elevators into what we now use today. 

Another installment of melanated mail has been delivered. Ponder, reflect, and pass it on!

0

Tope Awotona: Billionaire Founder & CEO of Calendly

Welcome To Black Mail!

Where we bring you Black History, Special Delivery.

Tope Awotona is the billionaire founder and CEO of Calendly.  Calendly is an online scheduling platform designed to make meeting scheduling easier. Awotona founded the company in 2013 after being frustrated with the back-and-forth process required to schedule meetings. The platform currently has 10+ million users. Calendly users like the platform’s ease of access and “no ads” feature available to premium users. Its clientele includes companies such as Lazy Boy and Ancestry.com.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Awotona moved to the United States at age fifteen, where his family settled in Marietta, GA. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Georgia, where he graduated with a degree in business. He worked in several sales positions after graduation before trying his hand at entrepreneurship. Awotona had three failed business ventures before finding success with Calendly. The failed ventures included a dating website, projector sales, and garden equipment. 

Continue reading “Tope Awotona: Billionaire Founder & CEO of Calendly” →
0

Viola Mitchell Turner: Trailblazing Investor

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Welcome To Black Mail…..where we bring you Black History:  Special Delivery!

Viola Mitchell Turner (1900-1988) was a black executive at North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.  Born in Macon, Georgia, she was the only child of teen parents.  Her parents were very poor.  Against many odds, Viola Mitchell Turner blazed a trail of success for herself which included being appointed as the first African American member of the North Carolina Mutual Board of Directors. 

Continue reading “Viola Mitchell Turner: Trailblazing Investor” →
0

Help Us Reach Our Goal

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Blackmail4u.com
Help us reach our goal! Just 2,500 more website views are needed to reach our February goal. Head to the website and check out some Black History, facts, quotes, and news!! WITH YOUR HELP WE CAN DO IT.

0

That’s On You Boo!!

Black History: Special Delivery!!

“If you only celebrate Black History one month out of the year. ….That’s on you boo!! At Black Mail we celebrate Black History ALL year long! Why don’t you? You don’t permission to elevate and celebrate Black History!

-Blackmail4u.com

0

Dr. Myra Adele Logan: First Woman To Perform Open Heart Surgery

Black History: Special Delivery!!

 

myra-long

Dr. Myra A. Logan (1908-1977) made history in 1943 by becoming the first woman to operate on a human heart. Logan was born in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her father was the treasurer of Tuskegee Institute. Her mother was well known suffragist and health care advocate. Her mother also had a college degree, which would have been rare at that time. Logan earned an MS in psychology from Columbia University. She then was awarded a scholarship to attend New York Medical College. She graduated in 1933 and completed an internship at Harlem Hospital in the emergency room. Continue reading “Dr. Myra Adele Logan: First Woman To Perform Open Heart Surgery” →

4

Christina Jenkins: Inventor of The “Sew In” Hair Weave

Black History: Special Delivery!!

 christina-jenkins

 Christina Jenkins is credited with inventing the sew in hair weave technique. The process of adding in hair extensions was centuries old.  Jenkins improved on these techniques by creating a process of sewing in hair extensions rather than pinning them to the scalp.  While employed by a wig maker in 1949, Jenkins became aware that customers often complained that their wigs would fall off their heads frequently.  She began to explores ways to rectify this concern.  Jenkins sew in technique was considered revolutionary when it was first introduced.  She obtained a patent in 1951 for the process. Her technique was extremely popular with clients and cosmetologists.  Jenkins traveled the world sharing her technique.  The technique she used was a very lengthy process.

Jenkins opened the “Hairweev Academy” to train licensed cosmetologists. People came from all over the country to be trained in the technique. She offered the cosmetologists that she trained franchising opportunities to use the technique.   However, many students did not fulfil the financial obligations of the franchise agreement.  As a result, Jenkins quickly lost control of her invention and personal finances began to suffer.  She attempted to take legal action against these individuals.  However, Jenkins lacked the finances she needed to do so and was unable to continue running the business.

The sale of hair extensions is currently a billion dollar industry. There are many different hairweaving techniques today.  Her invention was a game changer for the hair industry.  Christina Jenkins died in 2003.

0

Ellenae Fairhurst: 1st Black Woman To Own A Lexus & Infiniti Dealership

Black History: Special Delivery!!

Ellenae Fairhurs

Less than 8% of car dealerships are owned by women. That number is only 1% for the number of dealerships owned by black women. However, women influence over 85% of the auto purchases. Ellenae Fairhurst has made history in Huntsville, AL becoming the first African American woman to own a Lexus dealership. She accomplished this mile stone in the early 1990’s!! A native of Dayton, OH, she started her career in the auto industry as a secretary at Ford Motor Company in 1968 in Detroit, MI. Fairhurst attended Miami University in Ohio. After graduation, she moved to Detroit and began her career with Ford. She had originally been selected to participate in Ford’s management training program but after finding out that she had recently been married, they did not permit her to participate in the management training program. Fairhurst held a number of positions throughout her 17 year tenure with Ford.

In 1988 she opened her first dealership.   Fairhurst sought out the opportunity at a time when many corporate professionals were being downsized. Fairhurst became aware of Ford’s dealership training program. She found it very difficult to get information on how she could be considered for participation. However she was supported in her efforts by several African American dealers. Unfortunately, she was unsuccessful in entering the dealership program at Ford, but was able to enter the dealership training program for Chrysler. Her first Chrysler dealership was it in Fayetteville, NC opened in 1988 was very successful. Fairhurst was able to pay off her dealership in 8 years which is nearly half the time (15 years) that it would normally take to do so. To enter the dealing training program, you had to prove that she had $50k of disposable income. The actual cost of her first dealership was $150k. Ford had an employee stock purchase program which had a company match. Fairhurst participated in this program and was able to use these funds to help fund her efforts to purchase the Chrysler dealership. Most of the remaining funds for the dealership purchase came from severance pay she received after being down-sized from Ford.

Fairhurst believes that most women have an innate ability to be excellent entrepreneurs. Fairhust identifies some of her challenges in owning her first dealership as being lack of access to information and opportunity as well as constantly being told what she could not do. While dealers of color did eventually did make inroads in owning main line dealerships, there was not much progress in owning luxury dealerships. Fairhurst left her Chrysler dealership to come to acquire an Infiniti dealership in Huntsville, AL. This was also a milestone for Fairhurst as she was the first African American woman to acquire an Infiniti car dealership in the 1990’s. She is now the owner both the owner of two luxury dealerships in Alabama (Infiniti and Lexus)

Click the link to hear an interview with Ellenae Fairhurst

https://soundcloud.com/auto-trends-with-jeffcars

0

Another Legend Has Left Us: Muhammad Ali Dead At 74

Black History:  Special Delivery!!

 

Today we are sharing 7 little known facts about the life of the incomparable Muhammad Ali who died on June 3, 2016 at the age of 74.

  1. Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Clay. He was named at birth after an abolitionist. When he converted to the Muslim faith, he changed his name initially to Cassius X. At the time, Ali, was also good friends with Malcolm X. When Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam, Cassius X decided to change his name to show that chose to remain loyal to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad rather than following Malcolm X. In 1964, he changed to Muhammad Ali
  2. Ali inspired Sylvester Stallone to make “Rocky”. Ali fought a little known boxer, Chuck Wepner. Ali did beat Wepner, but it took him the full 15 rounds. Wepner was recognized for his grit in going the distance with the champ. Rocky’s opponent, “Apollo Creed” was inspired by Ali.
  3. He never turned down an autograph request. As a young boy he was denied an autograph by Sugar Ray Robinson. He vowed that should he become famous he would never deny his fans. He even had a special P.O. Box for anyone wanting an autograph.
  4. He used to race the school bus. Instead of “riding” the bus, he “raced” the bus to school as a child in Louisville, KY.
  5. He threw away his gold medal. Ali won a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics. He wore the medal frequently. When he was refused service at a restaurant because of his race, he then threw his Gold medal into the Ohio River stating that he would not wear in a country where he would be denied service.
  6. A stolen bicycle launched is boxing career. When he was 12, his new bike was stolen. When he went to the police station to report the bike stolen, he met an officer there who introduced him to boxing. He also vowed that he was going “whip” whoever stole his bike. However the bike was never found.
  7. He recorded an album. In 1963, he made of recording of Ben E. King’s, “Stand By Me”. It was released in 1964 by Columbia Records. The recording was part of Ali’s, “I Am The Greatest” spoken-word album.

 

 

6

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑

%d bloggers like this: