Black History Month transportation legends: Garrett Morgan

There is a lot of technology in the modern day that our society takes for granted. Yet, all the technology we use on daily basis came from inventions created to make life a little easier, and in some cases, safer. Today’s featured transportation legend saw a problem that needed to be fixed and laid down the foundation for an object most people use every day: The three-signal traffic light.

Garrett Morgan was an inventor who was born on March 4, 1877, in Paris, Kentucky.  After leaving home at the age of 14, he made it to Ohio and became a handyman in Cincinnati. Later, he moved to Cleveland and worked as a sewing machine repairman. After a few years, he was able to open his own sewing machine repair shop.

An example of Morgan's traffic signal. Source: National Museum of American History

In the early 1920s, horse-drawn carriages, bikes, wagons, streetcars, automobiles and pedestrians shared the same infrastructure and streets became quickly congested. At this time, there were manually operated traffic signals at intersections but their effectiveness left much to be desired. They switched between “Stop” and “Go” quickly and gave drivers little-to-no warning. Without time to react, collisions were common.

 It is said that Morgan saw a serious crash and it prompted to him to design a three-way traffic signal to help give drivers more time and clear intersections before traffic entered.

“The signal Morgan patented was a T-shaped pole with three settings,” according to History.com. “At night, when traffic was light, it could be set at half-mast (like a blinking yellow light today), warning drivers to proceed carefully through the intersection.”

Ohio History Central’s website said that the invention had three types of signals that said; “Stop,” “Go,” and “Stop in all directions.” The latter signal was created to allow pedestrians to cross the streets safely.

Morgan sold the rights to his invention to General Electric for $40,000. He is responsible for several other inventions, including the gas mask. He even developed his own newspaper called the Cleveland Call.

Morgan died in 1963 and although his traffic signal is not the same model we use today, it is because of Morgan that we have an interim or “caution” signal that helps clear intersections so traffic can move at a safer pace.

Check this out: Buffalo Solider Memorial in Junction City

The Buffalo Solider Memorial is located in Junction City.

We finish Black History Month by visiting The Buffalo Soldier Memorial, which is located in Junction City and is dedicated to the 9^th and 10^th Horse Cavalry Regiments stationed at Ft. Riley – the famous “Buffalo Soldiers.”  The memorial wall is constructed of native limestone and serves as a backdrop for a 9-foot bronze sculpted statue of a Buffalo Soldier by his horse.  The site of the memorial is near a one-of-a-kind 1940s government housing area once designated for the Buffalo Soldiers and their families. These brick single-family dwellings are the only remaining set in existence today.

A close up of the Buffalo Soldier Memorial.

From 1866 through the Second World War, Buffalo Soldiers selflessly served and courageously fought in defense of our Nation and they are a reflection of the courageous sacrifice and magnificent service these men gave to the United States of America.  Native American tribes dubbed the black troopers “Buffalo Soldiers” as a sign of respect for the tenacity and valor they displayed in combat throughout the western frontier.

Black History Month Transportation Legends: Bessie Coleman

She said that she refused to take no for an answer, even when she was denied entry to flight school. She taught herself French and moved to France where she became the first black woman to earn a pilot’s license in 1922. Her name was Bessie Coleman and she quickly became known as, “Queen Bessie.”

Born on January 26, 1892 to family of sharecroppers in Atlanta, Texas, Coleman was one of 13 children.  She attended a one-room, segregated school and excelled in math and reading.

According to Biography.com, in 1915, Coleman moved in with her brothers in Chicago and became a manicurist. But not long after she moved to the “Windy City,” she read stories about World War I pilots and heard stories of their adventures in the skies. This sparked her interest in aviation.

Despite gender and racial discrimination, which was common in the early 1920s, she earned her pilot’s license from a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale in France. She had high hopes of starting a flying school for African Americans. Although she didn’t get a chance to see that dream become a reality, she did return to the United States and soared to fame with exhibition flying. Coleman performed complicated stunts and aerial tricks while flying for spectators across the country. During this time, she earned her nickname.

Only a few years after she received her pilot’s license, Coleman was tragically killed when an accident during a show rehearsal caused her plane to crash. She was only 34.

Although she left this world at a young age, she continues to inspire all who wish to achieve their dream of flying.

“The air is the only place free of prejudices,” she once said.