In the spirit of Women’s History Month, I thought highlighting a few of the many Black female inventors would be a good idea.
Many inventions that we often take for granted were created by Black inventors. There was a time when the U.S. patent office would not recognize inventions created by Blacks, allowing whites to take credit for Black inventions. Women inventors not only had to deal with racism, but they also had to contend with male chauvinism.
Sarah Goode was the first African American female to receive a U.S. patent in 1885. Born into slavery, Goode and her husband moved to Chicago after the Civil War to open a furniture store. Many of her customers lived in very small apartments. Mrs. Good invented a folding cabinet bed, which could be converted into a cabinet desk when not in use. The invention was the forerunner of the Murphy and sofa bed.
Mariam Benjamin was the second African American female to receive a U.S. patent in 1888 for inventing the Gong and signal chair. This type of chair allowed hotel guests to push a button to request waiter service. The United States House of Representatives later adopted this invention. Benjamin’s design became a precursor to the signaling systems used by airlines that allow passengers to reach flight attendants for service.
Dr. Patricia Bath was the first African American woman to receive a patent for a medical purpose in 1988 for her invention, the Laserphaco Probe, a medical device that uses a laser to remove cataracts quickly and nearly without pain.
Marie Van Brittan invented the first close-circuit TV security system in 1969. Born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, Van Brittan and her husband Albert Brown, who worked as an electronics technician, installed the first home audio and video security system in their home at 151-58 135th Avenue Jamaica, New York.
Dr. Hadiyah Nicole Green, who lost an aunt and uncle to cancer, was motivated by these tragedies to become a distinguished physicist. Dr. Green’s groundbreaking research of using laser technology to insert nanoparticles to kill cancer cells has great promise.
Black female inventors and scientists continue to develop ways to improve the quality of life in our world while making history. Dr. Kizzmekia “Kizzy” Corbett led the Vaccine Research Center’s {VRC} team that developed the COVID-19 Vaccine, and Dr. Gladys B. West, a major contributor to the development of the GPS directional system, are fine examples of hidden Black female figures in science.
Black female inventors are getting younger. At 7, Zora Bell became the youngest person to create a mobile app video game. The first grader from West Philadelphia presented her full version mobile game at the University of Pennsylvania’s Bootstrap Expo in 2012.
We are who we think we are. Never allow fear and doubt to keep you from being all that you can be.

Content retrieved from: https://www.harlemcommunitynews.com/urbanology-black-female-inventors-then-and-now-by-w-a-rogers/.