Black History Month – African Americans in Transportation
February 1, 2018
February is dedicated to honoring the achievements of African Americans. There have been many contributions by African-Americans throughout this country’s history, including helping to shape transportation through inventions and actions.
- Maya Angelou has stated that she was the first female African American Street Car Conductor in San Francisco at the age of 16.
- Charles Banks invented the Hydraulic Jack which allows us to keep buses well maintained and safe.
- Garrett Morgan invented the first traffic signal in 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio. The signals were used throughout North America until the invention of the automatic red-yellow-green light signals.
- Meredith Gourdine invented the exhaust purification system for automobiles in 1967, now known as the Catalytic Converter, helping to keep our air clean.
- Rosa Parks refused to obey the bus driver who asked her to give up her seat for a white passenger, which helped spearhead the Civil Rights Movement.
One of this community’s own members, Sam Reynolds, and his family will be honored this spring with the installation of a permanent marker near the Sam Reynolds EmX Station on West 11th. Look for information on LTD.org later this spring.