In my first post way above, I linked to a forum on the matter of black inventors, calling particular attention to a post by "Lurker," a black man, who refuted some of the spurious listings and gave a thumbnail sketch of how the invention really came about. He drew a flurry of rather vicious criticism from others who took issue with him, saying that, by contesting validity of the list, he was denigrating his own race. He responded to this posts as follows:

It is posts like this that make me cringe. Blacks are the only race of people who want to be something else. We straighten our hair, bleach and whiten our skin, colour it blonde, and chase the beauty ideal of the white.

By the same token, this Black inventor crap is a tacit admission to the racist view that Blacks are not as smart as whites. For example, you do not have posts of Black athlete contribution to sports. You do not have posts of Black contributions to the priesthood. You do not have posts of Black contributions to music. So why do you feel that you have to prove that Blacks are as smart as whites? Those of us who are smarter than the average person, black or white, know it within our heart of hearts and don't require bullshiite validation.

This "we is good as dems" crapola is just our secret fear of inferiority showing through, and our bravado and our low self-esteem as a race. I am just as good as any man, regardless of skin colour, and I don't need a dam bullshiite list to buttress my secret low self-esteem.

I'd say that Lurker has made a pretty good point.

Races, ethnic groups, or nationalities don't invent things. People do.

Don Firth