Black History Month Spotlight: Claudette Colvin

"Claudette Colvin is a civil rights activist who, before Rosa Parks, refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger. She was arrested and became one of four plaintiffs in Browder v. Gayle, which ruled that Montgomery's segregated bus system was unconstitutional.

After her refusal to give up her seat, Colvin was arrested on several charges, including violating the city's segregation laws. For several hours, she sat in jail, completely terrified. "I was really afraid, because you just didn't know what white people might do at that time," Colvin later said."

Read more: https://www.biography.com/activist/claudette-colvin

Black History Month Spotlight: Lonnie G. Johnson

"African American engineer and inventor Lonnie Johnson earned his master's degree in nuclear engineering from Tuskegee University and went on to work for the U.S. Air Force and the NASA space program.

After tinkering with the invention of a high-powered water gun, Johnson's Super Soaker became a top-selling item by the early 1990s.

He has since been developing the Johnson Thermoelectric Energy Converter (JTEC), an engine that converts heat directly into electricity, which Johnson's sees as the path to low-cost solar power."

Read more: https://www.biography.com/inventor/lonnie-g-johnson

Black History Month Spotlight: Sarah boone

"Sarah Boone was an African American dressmaker who made her name by inventing the modern-day ironing board.

In her patent application, she wrote that the purpose of her invention was "to produce a cheap, simple, convenient and highly effective device, particularly adapted to be used in ironing the sleeves and bodies of ladies' garments."

With its approval in 1892, Boone became one of the first African American women to be awarded a patent."

Read more: https://www.biography.com/inventor/sarah-boone