BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : BLACK SCIENTISTS AND INVENTORS :

During slavery most black slaves were denied formal education and in fact many laws were passed in the South prohibiting slaver literacy in the aftermath of various slave rebellions. Even free slaves were limited in their access to mainstream quality education and vocational training, with limited education and training meant that for most part blacks were shut out of professional occupations and confined to working in industries deemed acceptable for them, such as domestic services, some manual trades and agriculture. Never the less a small number of exceptionally talented blacks were able to obtained an education and through their lifs work make significant contributions to American and the rest of the world life.

Two early African American Scientists, namely Mathematicians and Astronomer Benjamin Banneker and Agricultural Chemist George Washington Carver have become legendary for their intellect and ingenuity.

Unlike black slaves, free black slaves prior to the civil war, were entitled to receive patents for their inventions. Thomas Jennings is the first known African American to hold a patent and he used the   money he earned from his inventions to fund abolitionist causes. Following the civil war the US patent laws were revised so that anyone regardless of race could hold a patent.