Black History "Stuff": Today in Black History: Oct 11th

October 11

www.africa.upenn.edu/K-12/Today_B_History

Inducted 2007

Born 1838,Alexander Miles, who contributed to the elevator industry in 1887, was an African-American inventor of the late 19th century who was able to transcend racial barriers in the United States.Invention ImpactMiles attached a flexible belt to the elevator cage, and when the belt came into contact with drums positioned along the elevator shaft just above and below the floors, it allowed the elevator shaft doors to operate at the appropriate times. The elevator doors themselves were automated through a series of levers and rollers.(Improved Method for Opening & Closing Elevator Doors. Patent# 371,207). Before working on elevator engineering, Miles experimented with the creation of hair products. The influence of his elevator patent is still seen in modern designs, since the automatic opening and closing of elevator and elevator shaft doors is a standard feature.
Miles, who was born in Duluth, Minnesota, designed an elevator that was able to open and close its own doors and the elevator shaft doors. When the elevator would arrive or depart from a given floor, the doors would move automatically. Previously, the opening and closing of the doors of both the shaft and the elevator had to be completed manually by either the elevator operator or by passengers, contributing greatly to the hazards of operating an elevator.

NAACP organized the Legal Defense and Education Fund, 1939

Oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization. It was founded in 1909 to secure political, educational, social, and economic equality for African Americans; W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells were among its 60 founders. Headquartered in Baltimore, Md., the NAACP has undertaken litigation, political activity, and public education programs.

In 1939 it organized the independent Legal Defense and Education Fund as its legal arm, which sued for school desegregation in Brown v. Board of Education (1954). During World War II it pressed for desegregation of the armed forces, which was achieved in 1948.

In 1967 its general counsel, Thurgood Marshall, became the U.S. Supreme Court's first African American justice.