Black innovation

You want to be racist? Then be a real one.

Don’t deny the fact that your comfort and progress rest on Black innovation.

Let me give you the list:

The ironing board—improved by Sarah Boone, giving women a practical tool for smoother home life, freeing them to work more efficiently.

The refrigerator—pioneered by Frederick McKinley Jones, preserving food and saving countless lives with safer storage in every home.

The baby carriage—designed by William H. Richardson, giving mothers a way to transport their children with ease, expanding their freedom to move.

The traffic signal—Garrett Morgan’s invention, saving countless lives by organizing the streets and preventing accidents.

The light bulb—illuminated by Lewis Howard Latimer, who helped make the modern light bulb a reality, brightening homes and cities.

The smartphone—your connection, built on innovations from Black inventors like Jesse Russell, who helped shape wireless communication.

The GPS—Gladys West’s mathematics, mapping satellites that guide you every day, from journeys to adventures.

Neurosurgeons—saving lives, built on the shoulders of many Black pioneers, bringing groundbreaking care to countless patients. And that is just a fraction

Chorus:

Your world stands on what you deny.

Every step you take is built on us.

And still, you choose to look away.

Do you still think you want to be racist?

If you want to be racist, then are you sure it’s not envy?

You go under the knife to shape your lips like mine.

You tan your skin to mirror my glow.

You sculpt your nose to match what you once mocked.

So are you sure it’s not jealousy in disguise?

Sarah Boone, ironing board.

Frederick McKinley Jones, refrigeration.

William H. Richardson, baby carriage.

Garrett Morgan, traffic signal.

Lewis Howard Latimer, light bulb.

Gladys West, GPS.

Neurosurgeons—saving lives.

Do you still think you want to be racist? Would you stop and deny the blood that Drew gave to save?

Would you reject every crop that Carver paved the way to make?

Would you mute every note from the blues, jazz, and soul that gave the world its shape?

Then how can you erase us and still have stolen our place?

You thrive on the hate, but you feed on the same fate.

It’s a contradiction, no power in that state.

You can’t break us down, we built every gate.