Name: Tiffany Sang
Date of birth: 30 October, 1999
School: The St. Maarten Academy
The United Nation (UN) has declared 2015-2024 the International Decade of People of African
Descent. In keeping with the UN themes of Recognition, Justice and Development, describe the
global impact of people of African descent from your perspective.
Throughout the history of the world, people of African descent have had an enormous impact and influence. This can be seen in the various fields of sciences and in the world of politics.
Many blacks have invented things that range from practical everyday devices to parts of a machine on a grand scale. Despite most of the scientists and inventors being born in the slavery era, countless black scientists and inventors have made significant contributions to society and humanity.
An example of a more modern day inventor is Lonnie George Johnson, who was an engineer.
He invented the Super Soaker water gun, which became the top selling toy in the United States in
1991 and 1992. In 1980 he licensed Super Soaker water gun to Larami Corporation and two years later, the toy generated over two hundred million dollars in retail sales. It became the best- selling toy in America. Later on Larami Corporation would be purchased by Hasbro, the second largest toy manufacturer in the world. As time went on, Super Soaker sales have equaled to close to one billion dollars. Since its release, it ranks among the world's top 20 best-selling toys every year. This toy is so popular that the term super soaker is used generically to refer to any type of toy pressurized gun. Thanks to Lonnie Johnson, kids around the world can use and enjoy this toy when the heat of the day or summer becomes unbearable.
Gerald Anderson "Jerry" Lawson was an American electronic engineer known for his work in designing the Fairchild Channel F video game console, the first cartridge-based home video game console system. He was on one of the few African American engineers who worked in computing at the dawn of the video game era. He also founded and ran Videosoft, a video game development company which made software for the Atari 2600 in the early 1980s. Lawson's work has paved the way for more advanced gaming systems such as the Atari 2600, Xbox,
Nintendo and PlayStation. In March 2011, Lawson was honored as an industry pioneer by the International Game Developers Association. Because of his contributions, people everywhere can enjoy video games anywhere they go.
Not only have people of African descent invent things for recreation, they have also invented or contributed to the many things that are useful to the lives of others. Otis Bobby Boykin, was an inventor and engineer. His most known invention is the control unit for the artificial heart pacemaker. Today, millions of people around the world use this device which helps to maintain a regular heartbeat by using low- energy electrical impulses.
As well as the control unit, he is credited for creating a resistor that would be used in radios and televisions. He patented a total of twenty eight electronic devices and earned his first in 1959 for the wire precision resistor. According to his patent number, the wire had the ability to resist
"extreme accelerations and shocks and great temperature changes without danger of breakage of the fine resistance wire or other detrimental effects." Thanks to his invention, many electronic devices can now be produced more cheaply and more reliably than ever before. Boykin's resistors are used in products ranging from televisions to military missiles. His other inventions include a burglarproof cash register and chemical air filter.
Granville Tailer Woods was an African-American inventor who held more than 50 patents.
He is the first American of African ancestry to be a mechanical and electrical engineer after the Civil War. One of his notable inventions was the Multiplex Telegraph, a device that sent messages between train stations and moving trains. His work assured a safer and better public transportation system for the cities of the United States. In 1885 he patented an invention that was a combination of a telephone and a telegraph, called a telegraphony. He was called by some the "Black Edison" after rejecting an offer by Thomas Edison to make him a partner. Over the course of his lifetime, Granville Woods obtained patents for an automatic brake, an egg incubator, and for improvements to other inventions such as safety circuits, telegraph, telephone, and phonograph.
Patricia Era Bath is an American ophthalmologist, inventor and academic. She has broken ground for women and African Americans in a number of areas. Before Bath, no black person had served as a resident in ophthalmology at New York University and no black woman had ever served on staff as a surgeon at the UCLA Medical Center. Bath is the first African-
American woman doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. In 1988 she received the patent for the invention of the Laserphaco Probe, a medical device that uses lasers to remove cataracts. In 2000, she was granted a patent for a method she devised for using ultrasound technology to treat cataracts. Another area where people of African descent have had a global impact is in politics. Two perfect examples are Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela.
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918. He was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary , politician, and philanthropist. He served as the President of South Africa from
1994 to 1999. He impacted the world in many ways, from turning South Africa into a democracy to having his birthday being declared as a worldwide day of community service known as Nelson Mandela International Day. It calls on individuals to donate 67 minutes to doing something for others, commemorating the 67 years that Mandela had been a part of the movement. By the time of his death, Mandela had come to be widely considered as both "the father of the nation", and "the founding father of democracy" within South Africa. President
Barack Obama ordered American flags to be lowered immediately to half-staff in tribute to
Mandela, a rare honor for a foreign leader. Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician serving as the 44th President of the
United States, and the first African American to hold the office. During his presidency, student loan tax rates fell, gay marriage was legalized, health care laws were dramatically changed, and he continues to deliver some of the most powerful speeches anyone has ever heard. His accomplishments outside of the United States are: he ended the war in Iraq, eliminated the leader
Osama Bin Laden of terrorist group al-Qaeda, helped Sudan declare independence and improved
America's image abroad. He is often credited for restoring order to a chaotic economy by passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Many people think he has impacted and influenced the world greatly, and that there will never be another president like him again.
We can clearly see that descendants of Africans have had and continue to have a great impact and influence on today's society. Without them, the world would not be the way it is today. From inventors to politicians, they have all positively contributed to our society and leave their mark on the world.
1,159 words.
Sources
"Lonnie G. Johnson". Lonnie G. Johnson - Engineer, Inventor - Biography.com.
"Lonnie Johnson (inventor)". Lonnie Johnson (inventor) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 19 April, 2016. < https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonnie_Johnson_(inventor)>. (Monday 4 April, 2016).
"Jerry Lawson (engineer)". Jerry Lawson (engineer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 29 February 2016.
"Jerry Lawson Biography". Jerry Lawson - Inventor - Biography.com.
Hardawar Davindra. "Jerry Lawson, a self-taught engineer, gave us video game cartridges". Jerry Lawson, a self-taught engineer, gave us video game ... 20 February, 2015.
"Otis Boykin". Otis Boykin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 18 April, 2016.
"Otis Boykin Biography". Otis Boykin - Inventor - Biography.com.
Lawler Alleyne Omar. "Otis Bobby Boykin: Inventor". Otis Bobby Boykin: Inventor - Black History Month. 27 February, 2016.
"Otis Boykin Invented an improved electrical resistor". Otis Boykin: Invented an Improved Electrical Resistor.
"Granville T. Woods Biography". Granville T. Woods - Inventor - Biography.com.
"Granville Woods". Granville Woods - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 12 April, 2016.
"Patricia Bath". Patricia Bath - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 13 April, 2016.
"Barack Obama" Barack Obama - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 20 April, 2016.
"Eight Things Barack Obama has Done to Make the World a More Peaceful Place.". Eight Things Barack Obama has Done to Make the World a ... 9 October, 2009.
"Nelson Mandela". Nelson Mandela - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 11 April, 2016.