Celebrating Black History Month
This is a special post written by Charles Warren, Curriculum Developer at Triangle. Charlie is also a member of Triangle’s Racial Equity Committee (REC) and Disability Justice Task Force (DJTF). As part of our commitment to the work of the REC and DJTF, we will be sharing more information with you on subjects related to racial equity and disability justice. This post continues our series dedicated to calling attention to the contributions of people with disabilities to American history.
Mildred Davidson Austin Smith and Mary Davidson Kenner
Mildred Davidson Austin Smith was an inventor, game-designer, and opera singer who collaborated with her sister, Mary Davidson Kenner, to create tools and toys to make life easier and more convenient.
Born in 1912 and 1916 near Charlotte, North Carolina, the sisters attended the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, a historically significant public secondary school, and America’s first public high school for black students. Established in 1870, a public high school for black students did not exist until nearly 100 years after the founding of our nation.
The sisters then attended Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, DC, in the 1930s and ’40s. Until Brown vs. Board of Education in 1954, schools in the United States were segregated by race. It was nearly 175 years after the country’s founding that black and white children were permitted by law to attend the same school.
One of the first black performers to sing on the radio, Mildred pursued a career as an opera singer, while Mary pursued a career as an inventor like her father and maternal grandfather. When Mildred was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), and needed to make a career change, she also became an inventor. Mildred is most famous for creating the board game Family Treedition. One notable feature of the game was the depiction of figures and faces on the game cards. It is one of the earliest known American board games with depictions of black people. Mildred created a game that reflected and responded to the community in which she grew up. It is an early example of advocacy for representation in popular culture. Mildred also had versions of the game produced in braille.
The sisters worked together on disability-related inventions as well. Mary filed patents for a number of inventions that directly benefited her sister. These included specialized trays and storage for Mildred’s mobility devices, adaptions for the shower, and a design for menstrual belts, one of the first versions of the modern-day pad. For many years, Mary held the record for the most patents filed and held by an African American woman.
History shapes us, and we shape the future. William Faulkner wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” I am drawn to this story in particular because of the ingenuity and creativity it highlights. It can be difficult due to segregation, Jim Crow, and the history of American racism. Black and white photos often make it seem as though this history is further away from us than it is. Mary passed away in 2006. When my mother was born, schools were segregated.
Black History Month helps us to remember whose shoulders upon which we stand. In our quest for justice and equity, we carry a torch passed through generations and held by many hands. The torch remains lit, and so light radiates from all those who choose to carry it. The history of Mildred and Mary are a wonderful way to learn about the power of creativity to approach challenges.