I know some of you may have seen this before in an email or online, but i thought i would post it here for those of you who haven't.
It still makes me think to this day....

A World Without Black People

This is a story of a little boy named Theo who woke up one morning and asked his mother, "Mom, what if there were no Black people in the world?" Well his mother thought about that for a moment, and then said "Son, follow me around today and let’s just see what it would be like if there were no Black people in the world."

Mom said, "Now go get dressed and we will get started." Theo ran to his room to put on his clothes and shoes. His mother took one look at him and said, "Theo where are your shoes, and those clothes are wrinkled, son, I must iron them." But when she reached for the ironing board it was no longer there because Sarah Boone, a black woman, invented the ironing board and Jan E. Matzelinger, a black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.

"Oh well", she said, "please go and do something to your hair." Theo ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there because Walter Sammons, a black man, invented the comb. Theo decided to just brush his hair, but the brush was gone because Lydia O. Newman, a black female, invented the brush. Well this was a sight, no shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess, even Mom’s hair, without the hair care inventions of Madam C. Walker, well, you get the picture.

Mom told Theo, "Let’s do our chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store." Theo’s job was to sweep the floor. He swept and swept and swept. When he reached for the dust pan, it was not there because Lloyd P. Ray, a black man, invented the dust pan.

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 because Thomas W. Stewart, a black man, invented the mop. Theo yelled to his mom, "Mom, I’m not having any luck." "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 it was not there because George T. Samon, a black man, invented the clothes dryer. Mom asked Theo to get a pencil and some paper to prepare their list for the market. So, 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. Mom reached for a pen, but it was not there because William Purvis, a black man, invented the fountain pen. As a matter of fact, Lee Burridge invented the type writing machine, and W. A. Lovette the advance printing press.

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 John Burr, a black man. They made their way over to the car, and found that it just wouldn’t go. You see, Richard Spikes, a black man, invented the automatic gear shift and Joseph Gammel invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines. They noticed that the few cars that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks because there were no traffic signals because Garrett A. Morgan, a black man invented the traffic light.

Well, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their groceries and returned home. Just Well, it was getting late, so they walked 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 gone. You see John Standard, a black man, invented the refrigerator. So they just left the food on the counter. By this time, Theo noticed he was getting mighty cold. Mom went to turn up the heat, and what do you know. Alice Parker, a black female, invented the heating furnace. 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 usually takes the bus. But there was no bus, because it precursor was the electric trolley, invented by another black man, Elbert R. Robinson.

He usually takes the elevator from his office on the 20th floor, but there was no elevator because Alexander Miles, a black man, invented the elevator. He also usually dropped off the office mail at a near by mailbox, but it was no longer there because Philip Downing, a black man, invented the letter drop mailbox and William Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine.

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? Because 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. Not to mention if he were ever sick and needed blood. Charles Drew, a black scientist, found a way to preserve and store blood, which led first blood bank. And what if a family member had to have heart surgery. This would not have been possible without Dr. Daniel Hale Williams, a black doctor, who performed the first open heart surgery. So if you ever wonder, like Theo, where would we be without US? Well, it’s pretty plain to see. We would still be in the DARK!!!

Wow, we owe black people so much.....

It is indeed a very good post, and I definitely got that email at least once or twice in the time that I have actually owned an email account, and while I appreciate the truth, and the thought-provoking nature of it, it also sets us up for ridicule.. the email can be construed as sensationalistic in that it implies that if it weren't for these innovative and influential Blacks, that these items may not have existed.. which may or may not be true, but we'll never know that..

That said, it should be understood that this was intended to be something to make you think, and not make you feel as if you owe us anything.

Actually I imagine that if no Black people existed the world would be vastly different. Like how you ask?

Well let's start with America because it's where many of HC's members reside.
America was built on the foundation of slavery, and without the slaves the economy would not have done so well (either that or other white men would have been enslaved. I do not condone slavery but I cannot deny our society was built on it's back.)
And since the economy wouldn't be doing as well, there would be less jobs, more people would have been poorer and possibly died as a result (thus wiping out their descendants aka some people of this generation) So less money would have been made and spent, thus less on inventions and research for them. So even less would be invented.

And those inventions wouldn't be all that weren't invented, what about inventions that came about as a direct result of the previous inventions?
Where would current sugerical science be without the heart transplant and the blood donation capabilities? would we be able to transplant lungs or liver and kidneys? probably not. And without those abilities we can scratch out many more people's lives.
And speaking of medicine, what about Percy Lavon Julian? the man who pioneered a method to synthesize drugs from plants, leading to the creation of the birth control pill. As well as creating steroids from plant bases (Which are big parts of medicine. Steroids are used to treat numberous things from asthma to hormone imbalances.)

And what about getting around? well atleast in Canada we relied on trains alot, (We still do actually.) But without Elijah McCoy we'd still be slow and costly to use trains, because of his invention in the fields of lubrication of moving parts. (Thus shipping industries would be vastly different, much slower and more expensive.)

And what about the internet? forget it. None of it wouldn't have been built if not for Walter Lincoln Hawkins of the Bell laboratories, who invented the plastic that insulates the telephone wires. So the internet would even exist now if it weren't for him and his work. (Because the original internet was based on dial up connections through phone lines. And without that to lay the ground work for the internet other faster net connections might not have been developed. And even if they were would the public have access to them? )

Very well said, VirusZero.

I'm surprised no one has ever sent me that email. This country owes blacks A LOT.

Just some things to add. Blacks, they have done a lot for the world economy, it's true. But inventions spur from the ideas of others, and most likely if one person didn't make it, another would have. As for slavery, the fact is, we would have still been using Native Americans. Africans were enslaved because someone, can't remember his name, didn't like the idea of Indians being used as slaves.

I do agree though, history would most likely be a lot different with out blacks. But I honestly don't think that is the perspective to look at things from. It is widely too racist to be using. It's like asking, "Where would we be without white people?" or Asians, ect. It's not the perspective to be looking at things from, at least not to me.

That's a real eye opener. Send that to anyone with racial tendancies, and I'm sure they'd change thier minds.

To be honest...

If you aren't racist you shouldn't see any difference between white and black people because there is no difference. So technically these people who have invented stuff are people not blacks
And people like Thomas Edison was a person not a white person.

So in a way that's a racist story :unsure:

Actually, it isn't racist in that, it points out the significant impact that these influential Blacks had on our society.

It serves as a reminder to all about just how far that we have come in this country.

In this country, the majority of history that has been learned and studied in school is involving White people.. despite the fact that they are not the only group in this country.

George Washington was the first president..

Betsy Ross made the first American flag..

Abraham Lincoln emancipated, and then abolished slavery.

Christopher Columbus [allegedly] discovered America..

and yet, we say nothing as White history is jammed down our throats 9/10 months in the school year.. but the moment we learn of any Black history outside of February, people are quick to cry racism.

The only time we get to learn ANYTHING, regarding our history is in February..

and even then, it is about the same people.. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Malcolm X, Mahatma Gahndi, Booker T. Washington.. and Abraham Lincoln. <= Yes.. he was white, but he was just as an influential and integral figure in Black History, as much as the aforementioned.

We are censored on what we are being taught about our history, because if looked at for what it really was, then the pilgrims, and colonists would not look to good..

Example? European explorers destroyed rich villages in Africa, for their own gain, and enslaved it's people. When the Pilgrims first landed here, they did a LOT worse to the Natives. As it is today, the Native Americans in this country, are LESS than 2% of the WORLD's population. Most of them in this country still live on Reservations to this day..

That is why, no matter how fucked up Southern Whites were toward Blacks, that doesn't compare, to slaughtering an entire Ethnic group to near-extinction. Blacks in this country have Ancestors in Africa.. Native Americans don't have as many, and the ones they do have, can only be traced to a certain time.

That is why I feel sad for those who try to claim land here as their own, or those racists who say that all ni**ers should go back to Africa, or that America was built for Whites.. when this country wasn't built by whites, it was stolen by them.

Hitler killed nearly 6 million Jews during the Holocaust.. however there are still a lot of Jews that still exist in the world today.. so in a sense, what European whites did when they landed here, was a lot worse than what Hitler did during World War 2..

From the years 1500 - 1900, the Europeans reduced the number of Native Americans in this country from more than 12 million, to 237 thousand.

To this day, they live on reservations, and they are forced to marry, and mate with their own tribes, or they face extinction.

We can still learn about Jewish History, but Native Americans aren't as lucky in that the figures that we could have learned about from Native American history, or those who had learned from them when they were still alive, had died at the hands of the colonists.

We many never know how many tribes there really were.. there many have been many more than what we know of today, but sadly, the only tribes we know of, are those who left a trail, to follow back in time.

In an nutshell, historically speaking, everything that Whites have, have come from the expense of someone else.. they weren't out there working on their crops, and land, they had slaves for that.. <= which they wouldn't have, had they not destroyed villages in Africa, and stole everything they could.. and they wouldn't even have land if they hadn't raped, maimed, and slaughtered the Native Americans for it.

This email, as sensationalistic as it is in its context, is a reminder that there were a LOT more influential Blacks, even if their names aren't heralded as much as those I listed.

The truth is, we should be learning about ALL history.. be it Black, Native American, Irish, Spanish, Italian, and so on and so forth..

We should be learning about the History of those who make this country what it is: the people. <= Because then, and only then will it truly be American History.

After all, this country is one big melting pot of culture, ethnicity, religion, and well people in general.. so I think that it would be apropos to learn about the diverse histories of the MANY people living in this country.. and not just the [redundant] stuff they shove down our throats every year.

That is probably why we have gotten the enlightened responses to this topic.. some of the people in here probably never knew these things.

And the sad thing is, that for most people, be they Black, or otherwise, think that the extent of Black History, lies with these people alone.. so you have Blacks in this country that never knew these things.

It doesn't come as a surprise to me however, because whenever I had to do a book report, on someone from Black history, or history in general, I always chose someone that hasn't been whored-to-death, by other students.. I always chose one of the lesser-known figures, whom without, we would not have a lot of the luxuries that we take for granted today.. <= that in itself, would be the underlying objective of the email, and this post.

Mystic, you have to remember one thing.

You live in Europe. We live in the United States.. and I have to tell you, despite the name, we are not all that united.. There are still a lot of social, and racial problems in this country that still exist today, despite the fact that such problems are [seemingly] obsolete in Europe.

Canada legalized Gay Marriage recently.. In some parts of Europe, it was already legal.. yet in the United States, it is not fully legal.. Some couples have to go to another state, if the state they are currently residing in, either hasn't legalized or doesn't recognize it.

When we were having the Civil Right's crisis in the 60's here, there wasn't much to be said about it overseas, or in Canada.

Interracial couples, between someone who is White, and someone who is Black, or another minority* will get a double-take. Whereas, in Europe, it wouldn't be given a second thought as it is common place.

*I've heard that the Whites are now the minority, because there are a lot more people in this country, of mixed race, than there are those are who are White. It should also be understood, that those of mixed race, are not just white/black, white/spanish, or white/asian.. but black/asian, asian/spanish, spanish/black, as well as the other groups that are in this country.. and as such, they fall into that category as well.

Though, because this was from someone else, it is likely that this information is highly circumstantial..

You don't see many interracial couples being represented in the media, where as, you see it a lot more frequently in British Broadcasts.

So, generally speaking, people are a lot more accepting of others in Europe, and Canada, then they are in the U.S.

Though you are right however, people, be they Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, or otherwise are all the same.. if everyone on this planet had that view, then there would not be as many social problems today..

However, that point is irrelevant.. in that, this post hasn't nor attempted to imply any differently.

I dunno about the US but in Canada we do a fair bit of Black history in Highschool... (We have only 2 history classes - 1 is global history that touches on alittle of everything in the world, and then there is African-Canadian history, which follows the history of blacks from the beginning in Africa to modern day in both the US and Canada.)
Though before highschool we do alot less, mainly covering only the major figures as already mentioned. Though we do cover alot more about Native Americans and their history.

And as far as being racist for saying their white and their black... No, I wouldn't call that racist because it's not causing them harm, it's simply saying that is a person with black skin, that is a white skin. There is no hate behind it, no ill meaning, simply an identifying trait, just as if you were to say "That is a woman." And there's nothing wrong with that. It's when you start making derogatory comments that it becomes racist, when you say one is better/worse than the other.

The thing is.. The schools here may shelter the education, but the education in general is widely open. It's whether people really care to learn. Go online, look around. Watch the history channel once in awhile., it shows things that aren't taught in school. About the colonies, about blacks, about Native Americans, about the world in general.

However, blacks are not the only ones. It's understood by everyone here. The reason for that email, in my assumption, is to have people recognize the impact blacks have had on our community and to recognize equality, not to demolish it. Because in truth, all ethnic groups have made some contribute, but that's the reason why blacks are being recognized, because of their cultural history in America. (Though the Native Americans definitely had it worse, no doubt. You must remember they were slaves first.)

There was a book about the first black man who did open heart surgery. the guy he did it on was a white male and he lived for quite a while. It is a very good book, i also believe it was a movie no?


Without black people, fruit of the loom would go out of buisness =O j.k j.k J.K

And VZ im in canada and i was told that Canadians were LESS racist because when they are born they are taught very strictly about not being a racist for something like that, Matter of fact Canadians did slavery before the Americans did and decide ti wasnt right and abolished it very quickly.

That is exactly what they need to do here because that is where all of the hatred and intolerance comes from.. the children.. it starts with school yard teasing, and it escalates from there.

but here, they put a censorship on things.. even when it comes to gay characters in anime, and cartoons.. if the child is taught that there are different kinds of people, and that it is ok if you are gay, or if you are dating someone of a different skin racen size, or religion, then they will go on, and teach their children the same.

If everyone did that, then there'd be a lot less intolerance and hatred in the world.