Lincoln MacCauley Alexander,
Was a Canadian lawyer who became the first black Member of Parliament in the House of Commons, the first black federal Cabinet Minister, the first black Chair of the Worker's Compensation Board, and the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1985 to 1991
In the Air Force Lincoln Alexander served as a wireless operator in the Royal Canadian Air Force in World War II. While stationed in Vancouver, Alexander was refused service at a bar because of his race.
“I said, ‘you go down and tell them the next time I walk into that place, as a corporal, wearing the uniform of an Air Force person, that they serve me.’”
When he reported the incident to a superior officer, and the officer refused to take action, Alexander quit the Air Force, leaving in 1945 with an honourable discharge.
“At that time they didn’t know how to deal with race relations of this sort of thing, they just turned a blind eye to it.”
As a law student in 1953, Lincoln Alexander once told the Dean that he was using inappropriate language in a lecture. This comment divided the class between those who thought Alexander was right, and those who thought the Dean could use whatever language he liked.
“I don’t know what ever made me stand up and ask him that in a class of 200 people. . . . But I will tell you one thing, that day made me a man.”
A Champion of Canadian Politics
“At a time when racism was endemic in Canadian society, he broke through barriers that treated visible minorities as second-class citizens, strangers in their own land,”
"He broke through barriers that treated visible minorities as second-class citizens, strangers in their own land,”
Being born in Toronto to West Indian immigrants, Alexander decided to join the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 which was not an easy feat due to the prejudices towards black people all over the world at the time.
This was of course noticed by Alexander as he recalled, “none of the three services — army, navy air force — were interested in having blacks.” Alexander considered himself a Canadian as he was born and raised in Canada and by joining the army in some form, he believed he would be serving his country but, he did not ignore the discrimination against him. Black people in Canada were subject to racism as European Canadians believed them to be inferior to them.
There was a widespread belief that black people were not competent enough to understand the same things that Europeans did. Many looked down on black people and because of their skin colour they were not thought of as true Canadians.
Despite all of this, Lincoln Alexander was one of thirteen Black Canadians that were able to enlist in the army between 1936 and the lifting of the colour barrier on March 31, 1942. Through his service in the RCAF, Alexander was able to prove that a first-generation Black Canadian could complete his job with the same efficiency as a European Canadian, breaking through colour barriers that restricted and belittled minorities, including black people.
Charles B. Brooks
Patented One of the First Self-Propelled Street Sweepers
A black man from Newark, New Jersey, Charles B. Brooks, invented the U.S.' first self-propelled street sweeper truck and patented it on March 17, 1896.
If you could imagine the days where a man would manually have to sweep the streets with a long horizontal head broom, shovel and dustpan, one would quickly surmise that this invention was not only a time saver but also extremely economical.
Historically, prior to Brooks' truck, streets were commonly cleaned by walking workers, picking up by hand or broom, or by horse-drawn machines. Brooks' truck had brushes attached to the front fender that pushed trash to the curb.
Frederick Jones was an inventor best known for the development of refrigeration equipment used to transport food and blood during World War II.
Frederick McKinley Jones was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 17, 1893 to a white father and black mother and his childhood was challenging. His mother deserted him when he was a young child. His father struggled to raise him on his own, but by the time Frederick was 7 years old, he sent young Jones to live with a priest in Kentucky. Two years later, his father died. This living situation lasted for two years. At the age of 11, with minimal education under his belt, Jones ran away to fend for himself.
He returned to Cincinnati and found work doing odd jobs, including as a janitor in a garage where he developed a knack for automobile mechanics. He was so good, he became foreman of the shop.
He later moved on, again taking odd jobs where he could. In 1912, he landed in Hallock, Minnesota where he obtained a job doing mechanical work on a farm.
Jones had talent for and an interest in mechanics He taught himself mechanical and electrical engineering, inventing a range of devices relating to refrigeration, sound and automobiles.
He read extensively on the subject in addition to his daily work, educating himself in his spare time.
By the time he was twenty, Jones was able to secure an engineering license in Minnesota.
He served in the U.S. Army during World War I where he was often called upon to make repairs to machines and other equipment.
Portable refrigeration units developed by Jones helped the United States military carry food and blood during World War II. Jones founded the U.S. Thermo Control Company.
The company grew exponentially during World War II, helping to preserve blood, medicine and food. By 1949, U.S. Thermo Control was worth millions of dollars.
Jones died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 21, 1961.
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