Commentary: Black Scientists and Inventors
By dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
George Washington Carver (estimated1864 – January 5, 1943) was an American agricultural scientist and inventor who promoted alternative crops to cotton and methods to prevent soil depletion. He was one of the most prominent black scientists of the early 20th century.
George Washington Carver began life inauspiciously. Carver was born into slavery, in Diamond Grove, (now Diamond, Newton County, Missouri), sometime in the early 1860s. The date of his birth is uncertain and was not known to Carver because it was before slavery was abolished in Missouri, which occurred in January 1865, during the American Civil War. His enslaver, Moses Carver, descended from a family of immigrants of German or English descent, had purchased George’s parents, Mary and Giles, from William P. McGinnis on October 9, 1855, for $700 (~$18,609 in 2024).
Carver never knew either of his biological parents. As a sickly child, his workload on the Carver’s farm was reasonably light. Consequently, he spent much of his childhood wandering through fields and woods where he developed an affinity for the natural world. Faced with limited educational opportunities, he left Missouri for Kansas, where he graduated from high school. After a try at homesteading on the western plains of Kansas, he found his way to Iowa, where he enrolled at the Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) in Ames.
In 1896, Booker T. Washington, the first principal and president of the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), recruited Carver to head its Agriculture. Carver, after he became the first African American to secure an advanced degree in agricultural science, left the Midwest for Alabama’s cotton belt. Carver taught Tuskegee University for 47 years, developing the department into a strong research center and working with two additional college presidents during his tenure.
At Tuskegee, Carver launched a campaign to lift black farmers out of the desperate poverty in which most of them lived. Though his campaign ultimately failed in its aim, Carver adapted what he had learned in Ames in such a way as to put the application of its principles within reach of impoverished tenant farmers. In so doing, he anticipated the rise of organic farming and the push for the application of “appropriate technology.” Carver developed techniques to improve soils depleted by repeated plantings of cotton. Together with other agricultural experts, he urged farmers to restore nitrogen to their soils by practicing systematic crop rotation: alternating cotton crops with plantings of sweet potatoes or legumes, such as peanuts, soybeans and cowpeas. These crops both restored nitrogen to the soil and were good for human consumption.
As part of his greater efforts, Carver undertook research on numerous southern crops, hoping to find a plant that could undermine cotton’s stranglehold on the region. For a variety of reasons, it was his work with peanuts that catapulted him into the national limelight in the early 1920s. As an icon — the Peanut Man — was used as a symbol by a wide range of people with incredibly diverse — and often conflicting — agendas.
Many black folks cited him as proof of the value of education, while others thought the darker-skinned Carver was a rebuttal to the common claim that prominent, light-skinned blacks owed their intelligence to some putative white heritage. And many whites pointed to him as proof that blacks could succeed without taking apart the system of Jim Crow. Because Carver frequently talked about God and carefully cultivated an image of humility, members of different faiths claimed him as their own, or at least as a kindred spirit. Because he eschewed making political statements, he was a blank screen onto whom anyone could project his own ideologies.
In 1916, Carver was made a member of the Royal Society of Arts in England, one of only a handful of Americans at that time to receive this honor. Carver’s promotion of peanuts gained him the most notice. During the last two decades of his life, Carver seemed to enjoy his celebrity status. He was often on the road promoting Tuskegee University, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and racial harmony.
Following his rise to fame, Carver sought to persuade southerners to find new uses for neglected natural resources and alternative ones for underutilized crops. His work with the latter made him a pioneer in the chemurgy movement, a movement that was eventually overwhelmed by the proliferation of petrochemical products. His deeply-held religious beliefs shaped his appreciation of the natural world, making him something of an environmental mystic, particularly in his later years. Even as an adult Carver spoke with a high pitch. He was not expected to live past his 21st birthday due to failing health. He lived well past the age of 21, and his belief deepened as a result of surviving to an adult age.
On one occasion, Carver, in his late 70s, showed up at a hotel in New York City he had reserved only to be told that there were no available rooms. He waited for hours to have his reservation honored, and local figures in the press and the publishing world got word that Carver was being denied lodging. They leaned on the hotel and demanded that Carver be served. A white editor and friend of Carver’s reserved a room, and was promptly accommodated. But when he tried to give his room to Carver, they were again denied and told that there were no available rooms. The incident became national news, and it was a reminder that Carver’s fame didn’t insulate him from racism.
“His success both instilled black pride and soothed segregationist consciences, and also gave hope to those left out of the American dream while justifying the position of the successful,” McMurry wrote.
Upon returning home one day, Carver suffered a bad fall down a flight of stairs; he was found unconscious by a maid who took him to a hospital. George Washington Carver died at Tuskegee Institute on January 5, 1943. A movement to establish a U.S. national monument to Carver began before his death. Because of World War II, such non-war expenditures had been banned by presidential order. Missouri senator Harry S. Truman sponsored a bill in favor of a monument. In a committee hearing on the bill, one supporter said:
The bill is not simply a momentary pause on the part of busy men engaged in the conduct of the war, to do honor to one of the truly great Americans of this country, but it is in essence a blow against the Axis, it is in essence a war measure in the sense that it will further unleash and release the energies of roughly 15,000,000 Negro people in this country for full support of our war effort
The bill passed unanimously in both houses.
On July 14, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated $30,000 (~$433,687 in 2024) for the George Washington Carver National Monument west-southwest of Diamond, Missouri, the area where Carver had spent time in his childhood. This was the first national monument dedicated to an African American and the first to honor someone other than a president. The 210-acre national monument complex includes a bust of Carver, a 3⁄4-mile nature trail, a museum, the 1881 Moses Carver house, and the Carver cemetery. The national monument opened in July 1953.
Linda McMurry, author of the biography George Washington Carver: Scientist and Symbol, writes that Carver was ubiquitous in his time, and one of the dozen or so most famous people in America. “In the last four years of his life, his name was attached to almost everything even remotely connected with blacks, such as a ‘colored theatre’ in Norfolk, a swimming pool in Indianapolis, a settlement house in Pittsburgh, a ‘professional building’ for Negroes in Cincinnati, and a Women’s Christian Temperance Union chapter in Atlanta,” she writes. “Eventually it became practically impossible to enter a black community anywhere in America without being reminded of the existence of a man named George Washington Carver.”
Sources:
George Washington Carver – Wikipedia
George Washington Carver – Black Past
George Washington Carver, The Black History Monthiest Of Them All
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
News round up by dopper0189, Black Kos Managing Editor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Loosing the court for generation continues to hurt every progressive cause Talking Point memo: Supreme Court Rules in Lockstep with Trump Admin’s Vision of a Whiter America.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Supreme Court exposed the grisly underpinning of the Trump administration Wednesday as it ruled to subordinate minority voters to white ones, and seemed ready to allow the government to summarily end protected status for endangered refugees.
The administration is an amicus supporting Louisiana in Louisiana v. Callais — a landmark ruling in which the Supreme Court made the Voting Rights Act dead letter — and the petitioner in the consolidated cases Mullin v. Doe and Trump v. Miot, a challenge to the Department of Homeland Security’s abrupt ending of the temporary protective status of Haitian and Syrian refugees.
In Callais, the Court’s right wing reinstated a discriminatory intent test that in the past had made the VRA so unusable that Congress intervened, clarifying in the 1982 amendments that legislative and congressional maps only had to have a discriminatory effect to be unlawful. Bucking that legislative history, Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority that plaintiffs could now only succeed with Section 2 claims by completely disentangling voters’ race from their political preferences — an impossibility in the South particularly, with its racially polarized voting. Their alternative option, he wrote, would be to draw a map that preserved Republican gerrymanders while also somehow giving minority voters increased representation.
The ruling could return the country to a pre-VRA status quo, where Black voters, particularly in the South, were carefully sorted into districts so their preferences would be swamped by those of the white voters. This disenfranchisement also had the knock-on effect of robbing huge swaths of the country of minority representatives.
When Alito wrote that the country and the South particularly “have made great strides in ending entrenched racial discrimination,” he did so with the benefit of seeing how the Court’s prior blows to the VRA have played out on the ground. Since the Court did away with preclearance in 2013 — the requirement that jurisdictions with histories of racially discriminatory voting practices get changes in voting laws approved by the federal government — red states unloaded new restrictions. A study by the Brennan Center found that the turnout gap between white and Black voters has grown nearly twice as quickly in previously precleared counties than in comparable, non-covered ones.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Court’s decision gave in to fake reverse racism claims, striking down a second Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana. News One: SCOTUS Callais Decision Delivers Major Blow To Black Voting Rights
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For months, voting rights advocates have warned that the Supreme Court would use its decision in Louisiana v. Callais to strip away Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, further eroding freedom.
And they were right.
Decided along ideological lines, Wednesday’s 6-3 decision blocked a Black-majority congressional district in Louisiana just weeks before voters head to the polls. A second Black-majority congressional district was created after voters and organizers fought for fair representation after the 2020 Census.
As NewsOne previously reported, Wednesday’s decision comes after the Supreme Court gave an anti-voting rights group a second chance to make its case. Originally heard in March, 2025, the case was rescheduled for rehearing in October, giving opponents of fair maps more time to invent reasons to deny Black voter power.
The majority opinion attempts to narrowly tailor the case to Louisiana only. Instead, by many accounts, Callais aids the Republican plan to lock up power for the next generation.
Joel Payne, spokesperson for MoveOn Civic Action, said the Court’s decision gave Republicans the green light to continue Trump’s “desperate power grab.”
“Suppressing voters is another way for Trump and Republicans to rig the system so they can keep stacking the deck for billionaires and the Epstein class and avoid accountability for their failed leadership,” Payne said in a statement. “MoveOn members will fight this naked MAGA power play to hoard more power and wealth for themselves and the billionaires that fund their campaigns.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“There is no question our fight became harder today, but I know we are up for the battle,” said former Vice President Kamala Harris. The Grio: Obama, Harris react forcefully to SCOTUS ruling on Voting Rights Act
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Kamala Harris reacted to the Supreme Court’s consequential ruling that weakens protections for Black voters under the Voting Rights Act, setting up what could be a cascade of congressional maps that draw Black voters out of districts where their votes can be most impactful in election outcomes.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision effectively guts a key pillar of the Voting Rights Act, freeing state legislatures to gerrymander legislative districts to systematically dilute and weaken the voting power of racial minorities – so long as they do it under the guise of ‘partisanship’ rather than explicit ‘racial bias,’” Obama, America’s first Black president, said in a statement following the high court’s Wednesday ruling.
As theGrio previously reported, the 6-3 conservative majority ruled that a Louisiana congressional map violated the 14th Amendment and was racially discriminatory against a group of white voters. The court also updated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, passed in 1965, to help end the disenfranchisement of Black Americans, particularly in the U.S. South, where African Americans were enslaved, lynched, and racially terrorized for centuries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yara CEO warns of global auction that would leave poorest countries scrambling for supplies they can ill afford. The Guardian:
Iran war may cause food shortages in Africa, world’s largest fertilizer firm says
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Iran war could have “dramatic consequences”, causing food shortages and price rises in some of Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, the head of the world’s largest fertiliser company has said.
Svein Tore Holsether, the chief executive of Yara International, said world leaders needed to guard against soaring prices and shortages of fertiliser causing a de facto global auction that would leave the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, scrambling for supplies they could ill afford.
“The most important thing we can do now is raise the alarm on what we are seeing right now – that there is a risk of a global auction on fertiliser that means it becomes unaffordable for those most vulnerable,” he said.
“Africa is actually quite well positioned to be a major food producer, not only for self-sufficiency, but even for exports to the rest of the world, but the reality is that they are massive food importers.
“But we need to be aware in this part of the world of the potential consequences that if we get to a global auction on food, there will not be a famine in Europe – but we need to be aware of who we are taking the food away from.”
Yara International is a Norwegian multinational with plants in 60 countries and sales in 140.
Holsether stopped short of predicting actual food shortages in parts of Africa but said he was in London to draw attention of world leaders to the possibility of things spiralling before action was taken.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
