Black History Month Spotlight Garret Morgan, Sheryl Swoops, Alvin Ailey, Phillip B. Downing, Sheryl Swoops and Alvin Ailey American Dance

• Garrett Morgan invented an early version of the traffic light. In 1916, he patented a “safety hood,” a breathing device that protected miners and firefighters. His traffic light was patented in 1923 and eventually sold for $40,000 to General Electric. #BHM
• Philip B. Downing designed a metal box with four legs which he patented on October 27, 1891. He called his device a street letter box and it is the predecessor of today’s mailbox.
• Martin Luther King Jr, entered Morehouse as an early-admission student at the age of 15 in 1944 and graduated in 1948 as a man ready to change the nation.
• In 1958 Ailey founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to present his vision of honoring Black culture through dance.
• WNBA Black History Spotlight Sheryl Swoopes was the first player signed to the WNBA .