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So, I know what I'll be reading late tonight as I prepare for #JUNETEENTH2020 . Thank you for sharing, @KaraWSwanson https://twitter.com/KaraWSwanson/status/1273614554602319873
The essay cites an article I wrote a few years ago about black inventors and the patent system: https://theconversation.com/americas-always-had-black-inventors-even-when-the-patent-system-explicitly-excluded-them-72619
I've learned so much researching this topic over the past few years. There are so many amazing stories that are not widely known about the relationship between race, innovation and technology in America.
One of my favorite history lessons is about Benjamin Montgomery, who was born into slavery in Virginia in 1819. He was enslaved in Mississippi and, while enslaved, invented a steamboat propeller designed for shallow waters in the 1850s.
Ben Montgomery tried to apply for a patent in the 1850s, but his application was rejected b/c of his status as a slave.
Ben Montgomery was owned by Joseph Davis, Jefferson Davis's brother. Yes, the Jefferson Davis who became President of the Confederate States of America. Pre-CSA, both Joseph AND Jefferson tried to patent Montgomery's invention too (this thievery was common for slave owners).
Both Joe& Jefferson Davis were unsuccessful. Jefferson didn't like this. Once he became President of the Confederate States of America, he signed legislation allowing slaveowners to patent the inventions of enslaved people. The CSA wasn't around long enough for anyone to do it.
In Invention of a Slave, Brian Frye provides an incredibly well-researched recounting of all of this: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2918085
The Davis family abandoned their Mississippi plantation before the union troops got there, and Ben Montgomery took over control of the operations. He allowed the Black people who lived there to run businesses and make money, so long as they paid something like rent.
After the war, Joseph Davis sold the plantation to Ben Montgomery, and Montgomery became one of the wealthiest planters in Mississippi. Eventually his son, Isaiah, purchased more than 800 acres of land and founded the town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi in 1887.
Mound Bayou is one of the oldest Black historical towns in America. I share a short documentary about the town, along with lots of other audiovisual resources, in my #JuneteenthSyllabus, which you can get by texting JUNETEENTH to 864-651-9920. #JUNETEENTH2020 #Juneteenth
Ben Montgomery’s story would be a great one for your series @karenhunter!
