BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN TRADESMAN AND ABOLITIONIST, THE FIRST FREE BLACK MAN TO OPERATE A DRY-CLEANING AND THE FIRST BLACK MAN TO BE GRANTED A PATENT : GOES INT THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS"

                                         BLACK      SOCIAL      HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                Thomas L. Jennings 1791–1856 was an African American tradesman and abolitionist. He was a free black who operated a dry-cleaning business in New York City, New York and was the first African American to be granted a patent. Jennings' skills along with a patent granted by the state of New York on March 3, 1821 for a dry cleaning process called "dry scouring" enabled him to build his business. He spent his early earnings on legal fees to purchase his family out of slavery, and supporting the abolitionist movement. In 1831, Jennings became assistant secretary to the First Annual Convention of the People of Color in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which met in June, 1831.

 BLACK  SOCIAL  HISTORY      -         Patent Controversy

Jennings' patent resulted in a considerable amount of controversy. The U.S. patent laws of 1793 stated that "the master is the owner of the fruits of the labor of the slave both manual and intellectual," thus slaves could not patent their own inventions, the efforts would be the property of their master. Thomas Jennings was able to gain exclusive rights to his invention because of his status of being a free man. In 1861 patent rights were finally extended to slaves.

During slavery, most black slaves were denied formal education and in fact many laws were passed in the South prohibiting slave literacy in the aftermath of various slave rebellions. Even free blacks in the century before and after the Civil War were limited in their access to mainstream, quality education and vocational training.
This limited education and training meant that, for the 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. Nevertheless a small number of exceptionally talented blacks were able to obtain an education and, through their life's work, make significant contributions to American life.

 BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY          -                       Inventors

Unlike black slaves, free blacks prior to the Civil War were entitled to receive patents for their inventions. Though, again, because blacks lacked educational and vocational opportunities, few had the necessary skills or experience to develop their inventive ideas or patent them.
Despite these constraints, there were a number of successful black inventors whose inventions proved useful and important. Thomas Jennings, the first known African American to hold a patent, used the money he earned from his invention to fund abolitionist causes.
Some slaves, who were skilled craftsmen, did create devices or techniques that benefited their masters' enterprises. According to a decision by the federal government in 1858, though, neither the slave nor the slave owner could claim ownership rights to such an invention. In 1870, following the Civil War, the U.S. patent laws were revised so that anyone, regardless of race, could hold a patent. Consequently the number of patents issued to African Americans soared.