This is a story of a little boy name Theo who woke up one morning and asked his mother, Hey Ma, what if there were no Black people in the world?
Well his mother thought about that for a moment, and said, "Son, follow me around today and lets just see what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world. Now go get dressed and we will get started.
Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes. His mother took one look at him and said, "Son, I must iron your clothes. Why are they so wrinkled?"
But when she reached for the ironing board it was no longer there. You see, Sarah Boone, a black woman, invented the ironing board
Well you will just have to go wrinkled today she said, now go put on your shoes. But Theo couldn't do this either. You see, Jan E. Matzelinger, a black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.
"Oh well," she said, "at least go and do something to your hair." Theo ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there. "
You see, a black man by the name of Walter Sammons, invented the comb.
Theo figured since he couldn't comb his hair he would just brush his hair, but the brush was gone. a black female by the name of Lydia O. Newman, invented the brush.
Well, this was a sight. Theo had no shoes, wrinkled clothes, his hair was a mess, even Mom's hair was a mess, because she didn't have the hair care inventions of Madam C.J. Walker! The Guinness Book of Records cites Madam CJ Walker as the first female who became a millionaire by her own achievements.
"Well Let's do our chores around the house, and then take a trip to the grocery store." Mom said.
You sweep the floor and I will go wash some clothes. Theo swept and swept and swept. When he reached for the dustpan, it was not there. You see, Lloyd P. Ray, a black man, invented the dustpan.
So he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. He then decided to mop the floor, but the mop was gone. You see the mop was also invented by a black man. His name is Thomas W. Stewart.
Ugh! Theo grunted in frustration. "Mom, I'm not having any luck." He yelled.
"Well son," she said, "let me finish washing these clothes and we will prepare a list for the grocery store."
When the wash finished, she went to place the clothes in the dryer but....the dryer was no longer there. You see, George T. Samon, a black man, invented the clothes dryer.
Theo and his mom were both becoming frustrated. 'Let's just make the grocery list. Go get a pencil and some paper to prepare the list for the market." Mom instructed.
Theo ran for the paper and pencil but noticed the pencil lead was broken. Well, he was out of luck because John Love, a black man, invented the pencil sharpener.
"Don't worry we can just use a pen." Mom said. His mom reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, black man, invented the fountain pen. As a matter of fact, They couldn't type it because Lee Burridge invented the type writing machine, even if they needed some other type of newspaper they would be out of luck because W. A. Lovette invented the advanced printing press.These were both black men.
Theo had an idea "Maybe we will be better off if we get out of the house"
So Theo and his mother decided to head out to the market. Well, when Theo opened the door he noticed the grass was as high as he was tall. You see, the lawn mower was invented by black man by the name of John Burr.
They raised their legs high to step through the tall grass and made their way over to the car. They got in and put on their seatbelts but the car just wouldn't go. You see, Joseph Gammel invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines and Richard Spikes invented the automatic gear shift , both of them are black men.
Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market. On the way they noticed that the few cars that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks because there were no traffic signals. You see, Garrett A. Morgan, a black man invented the traffic light.
Finally they made it to the market, got their groceries and returned home. Just when they were about to put away the milk, eggs and butter, they noticed the refrigerator was missing. You see John Standard, a black man, invented the refrigerator. They had no choice but to just leave the food on the counter.
By this time, Theo noticed he was getting mighty cold. "Mom, can you turn up the heat? Why is it so cold in here?" You See, Alice Parker, a black female, invented the heating furnace so they didn't have heat. Even in the summer time they would have been out of luck because Frederick Jones, a black man, invented the air conditioner.
It was almost time for Theo's father to arrive home. He appeared to be taking longer than usual. He usually took the elevator from his office on the 20th floor, but there was no elevator because it was invented by Alexander Miles, a black man.
He also usually dropped off the office mail at a near by mailbox, but it was no longer there because Philip Downing, invented the letter drop mailbox and William Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine, both black men.
See, he usually took the bus. But there was no bus, because it's precursor was the electric trolley, invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson.
Theo and his mother sat at the kitchen table with their head in their hands. When the father arrived he asked, "Why are you sitting in the dark?" Why? You See Lewis Howard Latimer, a black man, invented the filament within the light bulb.
Theo quickly learned what it would be like if there were no black people in the world. "It's been a long day dad" Theo sighed. Yes son it has. but I so have some good news Grandma is doing better! Due to Charles Drew a black scientist who found a way to perserve and store blood which led to the opening of the world's first blood bank, she was able to have a successful blood transfusion a few days ago.
and thanks to Dr. Daniel Hale Williams a black doctor, who performed the first open heart surgery. She has been scheduled to get a new heart soon.
Well dad Theo began, I am thankful for the dream that Martin Luther King had, bc this day has been one big nightmare. Theo's dad smiled.
