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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2004)
Oclobcf'3-2004_____________________ II" ^orttani» © b sm .er_______________________ Page as New Day, Place for Knauls Roast Black Women Inventors R on W eber T he P ortland O bserver by white women found out the de vice was the product of a black woman they would not use it. In 1885, Sara E. Good pat ented a “Folding Cabinet Bed,” similar to sofa beds used today. Miriam E. Benjamin invented a "Gong and Signal Chair,” in 1888 that was used in hotels and even in Congress to signal pages. Just a few years after this, Anna Mangin, of W oodside, N.Y., designed a new and improved Decades before women of any color were allowed to vote, America’s black women were working their way into the main stream o f American business, an area long reserved for white men. Nearly 3(X) hundred years ago, Sybilla Masters developed an invention for cleaning and cur ing Indian corn growing in the American colonies. Almost acentury laterin 1809, Mary Kies, another black woman, invented and patented a pro cess for weaving silk. M any black dom estic servants worked diligently to develop better methods in performing household c h o re s. O ne o f th ese women was Ellin Elgin, who in v e n te d the c lo th e s - wringer in the 1800s. Sadly, too many early in v e n to rs o f c o lo r w ere forced to sell off their in ventions cheaply. If they did not give up their inven Madam C.J. Walker tion to whites, the idea would be stolen anyway. The privileged majority simply did not want to admit that blacks were just as smart as they were. It did not take a college de gree to be bright-minded and inventive. Many early inventions came from uneducated work ers who found better ways of doing hard menial tasks. After selling o ff the rights to her wringer, Elgin received a mere $18 dollars for it. When asked why she let it go so cheap, she told friends she was afraid if pastry fork. Also that year, Sara Boone o f New Haven, Conn, patented a better version of the ironing board. The achievements of these women continued in modern times with Alice Parking de signing upgrades for furnaces in 1919; Mary J. Reynolds invent- ingahoistingand loading mecha nism in 1920; and M. Thomas who created a float-operated circuit closer in the same year. More recent inventions by black women are the digital toaster by Ruane Jeter in 1987, and the Illusion Transmitter by Valerie Thomas in 1980. One of the most successful A frican-A m erican business leaders of the 20lh century was Madam C. J. Walker. In 1905, she designed, manufactured and sold haircare products. Herbusi- ness grew to be the largest em ployer of black workers in the United States. With hundreds o f sales persons throughout the country, she ran a company that would dominate her field for decades. Her famous hair straightening iron, hair grower and related beauty products became the staples of a company that diversi fied to many other prod ucts. No other black woman of the times reached such fame in the white male dominated business arena. Madam C. J. Walker was not only considered the wealthiest black woman in America, she was also be lieved to be the first self- made woman millionaire in the United States. Thanks to her efforts, thousands of poor A frican-A m erican m en and women left low-paying domes tic work to become well-paid successes in the workforce. This American pioneer, bom Sarah Breedlove, a poor black slave girl in 1867, gave ourcoun- try hope by breaking barriers and becoming one of the most successful women in America. Ron Weber is a local speaker and writer on African-American history. He is a regular contribu tor to the Portland Observer. A new date and location were selected for the roast ing o f Paul Knauls, the A fri can-A m erican businessm an affectionately known as the m ayor o f inner north and northeast Portland. T h e e v e n t, w h ich is a fundraiser for the Interstate Firehouse C ultural C enter, is from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday. Oct. 22 at Oregon A ssocia tion o f M inority Entrepreneurs C a s c a d e P la z a , 4 1 3 4 N. V ancouver Ave. For more inform ation, visit w w w .genevas.net or call 503- 823-4322. Make Your Y iote Count You must register to vote every time your address changes or your name changes. To check if your registration is current, drop by Multnomah County Elections at 1040 S.E. Morrison St. or call 503-988-3720. ANNIVERSARY PARTY SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16 NANOSAURUS-GYPSY C ARAVAN- SIDESTAR EZRA HOLBROOK - VAGABOND OPERA • SCOTT FISHER . BALLOON CREATIONS STORYTELLERS 2 P.M. TO 10 P.M. • FREE • ALL AGES WELCOME McMENAMINS KENNEDY SCHOOL 57 3 6 N.E. 33rd Ave. • Portland • (503) 2 4 9 -3 9 8 3 • mcmenamins.com Giving our best. Visit Safeway's Web site at www.safeway.com Honeysuckle Turkeys 9 to 15-lb. size range. Frozen. Self basting with pop-up timer. Limit 2 Free SAVE up to 60( on 2 lbs. BUY ONE GET ONE Available at Safeway: FREE OF EQUAL OR LESSER VALUE FREE Safeway Club Price W ESTERN I 17 Mon 18 Tue Lunchbox favorites! SAVE up to 80C lb. w. Safeway Club Price MONEY U N IO N TRANSFER PRICES EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 2004 Sun Braeburn or Fuji Apples Ife Thur Fn Sat 13 14 15 16 19 Pnres f Her live Wednesday A aw Ortofr IJ Tmi Turvia» Or tobe- W ,’OM Items A pnces m this ad are available at your local Safeway stores No sales to dealers, restaurants or institutions Sales w retail quantities only Quantities of some items may be limited and suoject to availability Not responsible for typographical or pictorial enors We reserve the right to correct all printed errors On Buy One Get One Free (“BOGO” ) offers customer must purchase the *irst item to receive the second item free BOGO offers are not 1/2 price sales if only a smgle item purchased, the regular price applies Manufacturers coupons may be used on purchased items only - not o r free items XX?004 Safeway Stores Inc Safeway SELECT Bath Tissue 24 single roll. Or 12-double roll SAVE up to $1.86 5" Safeway Club Price Now the savings are in the Card! Safew ay French Toast Bread 24-oz. Great for Breakfast. Card Price: $125 ea. SAVE up to 42< on 4 «¿5 Safeway Club Price ALL LIMITS ARE PER HOUSEHOLD PER DAYT
