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Black History Month: Home

Black History Month is a dedication of the achievements of African Americans during the month of February. This guide will highlight some of the sources available at the library as well as online.

Black Inventors

Elijah McCoy

1844-1929

Canadian-born mechanical engineer and inventor. The son of former slaves from Kentucky, he revolutionized the industrial machine industry with his lubricator cup, which allowed small amounts of oil to drip into a machine as it worked. The creation of the lubricator cup dramatically sped up production in factories and on farms, as workers no longer had to stop at regular intervals to apply lubricants by hand.

Source Citation 

"Elijah McCoy." Science and Its Times, edited by Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer, vol. 5: 1800 to 1899, Gale, 2000, p. 607. Gale Virtual Reference Library, 

Subject Guide

African American Museum

The National American Museum of African American History opened on September 24th, 2016.  It is part of the Smithsonian Museum.  The museum chronicles the lives of African Americans with over 36,000 artifacts.  According to its founder Lonnie G. Bunch III, This Museum will tell the American story through the lens of African American history and culture. This is America’s Story and this museum is for all Americans.