Arkansas Home School Students Highlight African American Inventors

The Northeast Arkansas Home School Club put on a presentation for family and friends entitled "The Importance of African American Inventors" to wrap up Black History Month. The presentation was held at the Lake Pavilion. The home schooled students recited essays that they wrote about black inventors. Some students made their essay into a short play or dramatic performance.

The Northeast Arkansas Home School Club consists of parents and students from six counties. The students picked out some well known inventors and some chose to highlight some lesser known inventors. The essays and performances were well written and very informative.

Chloe Marks chose to write her essay about Otis Boykin, a man who invented an improved resistor that helped to make modern electronics more affordable. Chloe passed out a rough sketch of the resistor that Mr. Boykin created.

Remie Alexander performed a dramatic interpretation about the life of Sarah Goode. Mrs. Goode was the first African American woman to receive a United States patent. She created a cabinet bed that she sold in her furniture store located in Chicago.

Lewis Temple was the African American inventor that Marcko Bryan chose to highlight. Mr. Temple was born a slave and later got freed. He was a blacksmith by trade and got a patent for a harpoon that helped fishermen.

Maria Williamson chose to write about Sarah Breedlove McWilliams Walker. Mrs. Walker is better known as Madame CJ Walker. She helped to revolutionize hair care for African American women.

Christian, Melanie and Eric Kells performed a short play detailing the many inventions and patents of Richard Spikes. Mr. Spikes was working on an invention in 1962 when he went blind. He did not let his disability stop him. He simply invented things like a drafting machine for blind people that helped him to continue his life's work.

Each student included things that would be different today if the African American inventor that they featured had been denied a patent for his or her invention. Some of the things that the students thought of were very interesting and thought provoking.

After the students put on the performance, the family and friends were treated to an authentic soul food lunch. Ruthie Adams and Lou Donaldson catered the event. The lunch featured chitterlings, fried chicken, collard greens, corn bread and sweet potatoes. For dessert, we enjoyed brownies and home churned ice cream.

The Northeast Arkansas Home School Club meets once a month to allow the students time to socialize with other children. This time also gives the parents time to discuss some of the problems and benefits of home schooling. The parents and students also use this time to plan field trips to different places such as the Memphis Zoo and various museums.

Next month, when the Northeast Home School Club meets, the students will put on a presentation about the history of Arkansas. The students will dress in authentic period attire for each time period featured. The time and place of the performance have not yet been specified.