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