The International African Inventors Museum

As part of Black History Month, staff at the Millenium Library have been working with the Black History Month Committee to bring displays from the International African Inventors Museum to Winnipeg.

In the top photo, I am shown in the area of the displays with Commodore Wade Williams (with the Black History Month Committee) and Ruth Smith who read a poem at the opening ceremonies.

The second photo shows Francis Jeffers. Francis and his wife Denise are the Curators for the International Inventors Museum. They have done an admirable job of collecting information on many leaders and inventors in the black community.

One of the inventors featured is Elijah McCoy. Elijah is a Canadian who invented a lubricant for machines in the 1800s. His lubricant was much better than any others of the time, and people who ran machines always wanted to make sure they had the "Real McCoy".

One of the leaders in the black community who is featured is Dr. Sophia Jones, born in Chatham,Ontario in 1957, and the first black doctor in North America graduating from the University of Michigan in 1885.