Gabrielle Adams
August 18th, 2014
Assignment 1

In the Article We Did It- They Hide It the topic being depicted is of how famous Caucasian inventors have so blindly taken the ideas of many African men. Today’s society is wrongfully educated on the truths of many inventions. Even though African men have been recognized for some inventions many have been stolen from them by the help of patent. A patent is the grant given by the federal state to produce; sale and profit form an invention. An invention is the idea, process and final result of the process.
Africans were offered very limited credit for inventions they created. They were so limited that there was a period of time from the17th to the mid 20th centuries that barred African ancestors from filing lawsuits and testifying in court that their patent and invention were both stolen.
Countless times Africans have been stripped of the many things they have overcome due to the stereo typical standard society then and even today have placed them in. We do not educate ourselves or others enough about the truth of what happened but of the lies the sold then. I firmly believe in giving credit when it is due. This is a lacking factor of today. Due to the fact that someone’s skin is dirked more then another’s does not give them right to take credit of the work they have done. We need to stop accepting what is throwing at us by the wind and take what is rightfully ours.
If I were to invent something but another woman was granted to receive the patent for my thought something that is so personal and only I could have concocted it just because her hair is longer of skin is fairer then mine I would fight for my right. Listed in the article are actual inventions of African descendents.
For example, the Elevator- Automatic electric shaft closing Alexander Miles 10/11/1887 371,207 this invention has saved hundreds of thousands of lives by drastically improving upon pre-existing and quite dangerous ascending/descending