Lily Lu

Maya Angelou once said, “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens

the future and renders the present inaccessible.” Since the seventeenth century when

slaves from Africa arrived in America, discrimination and racism has been present in

society even during the twentieth century. Much progress was made over the course of

those years, such as the various liberties and rights gained from the Civil Rights

movement of the 1900’s, and progress continues to be made, as shown by the election of

President Barack Obama- the first African American president to ever be elected by the

people. African Americans have contributed to virtually every aspect of American

society, and they and continue to contribute a good deal to American culture, especially

in the fields of science and inventions and music.

African American contributions to science are often overlooked, but they indeed

did exist and were very significant. George Washington Carver, a former slave, brought

upon major advances in agriculture during his lifetime, which greatly impacted how

agriculture was carried out and its importance. Repetitive cotton growing cycles were

depleting the farmlands and slowly destroyed the quality of soil in the South, and Carver

was interested in helping the poor farmers who were forced to deal with the poor soil.

Through his studies, Carver found that by restoring nitrogen to the soils, the quality of the

soil would improve and more crops would be able to grow. He encouraged local farmers

to practice crop rotation and plant sweet potatoes or legumes, such as peanuts and

soybeans that contained nitrogen-fixing bacteria on them. As a result, crops improved,

cotton yields increased, and various cash crops could now be produced. Carver also

popularized hundreds of plant products, all of which was done under his research.
Carver’s work with different crops influenced the way people looked at seemingly simple

things, such as the food they ate. He experimented with the crops produced and looked

for all kinds of uses for the produce, like his research on how peanuts could be linked to

treating infantile paralysis, also known as polio.

Sometimes known as the “Black Edison,” Granville Woods was an African

American inventor who contributed largely to train technology and electricity. In 1885,

Woods combined the telephone and the telegraph to create the telegraphony. Alexander

Graham Bell’s company purchased the invention from him, and Woods then went on to

create the multiplex telegraph, which was a huge success in the railroad industry. It

allowed dispatches locate trains as well as let moving trains contact each other through

telegraph. This was a major step in communication and transportation, and further

increased the unification of the country by railroads.

One of the greatest achievements of the African Americans was their contribution

to music, and to this day those accomplishments can still be heard on the radio and on

television, as well as other forms of media. Different periods of time brought upon the

dominance of different musical genres. The history of African American music began

with the arrival of slaves in America who had nothing but their culture. Polyrhythmic

songs, working songs from the fields, chants, and improvisation were the origins of

African American music. The early twentieth century saw the emergence of the Harlem

Renaissance, and with it came the rise of jazz and blues. Ragtime performers like Scott

Joplin grew popular, as well as swing music, which had a white audience at the time.

During the mid twentieth century, jazz, rhythm, and blues continued to evolve, eventually

adopting uses of improvisation and more intricate arrangements of music. Gospel and
soul music emerged during the 1940’s and 50s, bringing to light celebrated musicians like

Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. The 1970’s produced a new genre of music called hip hop,

which started off as playful rhyming and spoken word poets. However, hip hop and rap is

incredibly prevalent in the popular music of today, with charts topped by modern forms

of the genres. Virtually all forms of African American music have remained important in

society today and are loved and embraced by people of all races.

African Americans accomplished much in sports as well by transcending racial

lines and creating legacies. Sports were traditionally dominated by whites, and it was

difficult for African Americans to become accepted in the field. However, athletes like

Arthur Ashe, Jack Johnson, and Jackie Robinson, who excelled in tennis, boxing, and

baseball respectively, broke color barriers and managed to create names for themselves in

their respective sport. Arthur Ashe voiced his concern for social equality and African

American rights along with his career in tennis, and Jackie Robinson’s major league

debut ended nearly sixty years of segregation in professional baseball. This is one of the

factors that led to greater pushes for equality during the time period, and his success

demonstrated that the fight for equality was more than only political. The successes of

African Americans in white dominated sports paved the way for social equality not only

in sports, but also in all aspects of society.

African Americans contributed greatly to American culture and continue to this

day. They have made advances in science and inventions, music, and sports, although

their successes are not limited to these categories. The impact African Americans have

had on the United States is profound, and can be traced as far back to when they first

arrived in the seventeenth century. Since then, their contribution has been felt in
essentially all features of civilization, and it has made America a truly one of a kind of a

country. Looking at all the advances and successes a group of people were able to bring

to a country in a relatively short period of time is awe-inspiring, and really puts into

perspective just how much one culture can affect another in such a unique way. An

African American becoming president of a country that once advocated subjugation and

segregation is a mind boggling thought, but due to all the achievements, battles for

equality and the never ending determination of African Americans were such successes

even possible.
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