For Clifton J. Brown, what started as a personal hobby has grown into much more than that.
Brown began collecting artifacts from African-American inventors — such as the rolling suitcase or the microphone — and in time acquired a collection that he turned into a traveling museum.
The African American Inventors and Inventions Traveling Museum will be at Ohio University Feb. 8 from noon to 6 p.m. in Baker Theatre. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Founded in 1998 by Brown, the museum’s goal is to inspire and educate people across the country about significant contributions by African Americans to society.
“Anyone who comes I guarantee will learn something new they didn’t know before coming to the exhibit,” Brown said. “I think it is important for students and faculty to know about the contributions by African Americans that make every single one of our lives easier every day.”
Besides inventions, there will be a blend of African art, sculptures, paintings, artifacts and historical articles written by African-American newspapers across the country. Highlights displayed at the exhibit will include the gas mask, instant potatoes, the pencil sharpener and Dasani drinking water.
“There are many inventions making our lives easier every day such as the carbon filament, which is part of a light bulb that was invented by Lewis Latimer,” Brown said. “The wrench was invented in 1922 by Jack Johnson, and all these are very important.”
This exhibit is just one of many organized by the Black Student Cultural Programming Board in honor of Black History Month.
“The practice of celebrating the different heritage month is a two-fold. The first one is to educate the larger population of the accomplishments of these groups,” said Winsome Chunnu, assistant director and advisor of BSCPB. “Second is to educate the people who are from these groups to help them identify about their history and appreciate things they already know.”
kh845809@ohiou.edu
