Black History Month is filled with familiar names such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson; even Oprah Winfrey. All are heroes in their own right but what about the forgotten heroes. As we posted a few days ago about one of our heroes, Percy Julian, we find another forgotten genius who has made life sweeter for us all. Did you know that sugar had to go through a very slow and expensive process to be extracted from sugarcane? The process was called the Jamaica Train and was usually done by slaves continually pouring boiling sugarcane juice from kettle to kettle until it was brown and lumpy. Norbert Rillieux*(1806-1894) recognized the power of steam and vapors and created what became the basis for all modern industrial evaporation which was to harness the energy of vapors rising from the boiling sugar cane syrup and pass those vapors through several chambers, leaving in the end sugar crystals. It’s been called the greatest invention in the history of American chemical engineering. Enough said!
*Source: Extraordinary Black Americans from Colonial to Contemporary Times
by Susan Altman
Posted by Libergirl and The NON-Conformist
TheConfirmationFiles 
This is a great post! This year, me and several Facebook friends (“Facers”) have noticed a marked paucity of Black History programs, school lessons, and televised specials – esp. on network TV. It is up to “us” to search for examples such as what you’ve shared here and to spread the word. We are more than ex-slaves, and more examples of our determined heroes, enlightened scholars, creative & artistic geniuses, profitable entrepreneurs and prolific inventors need to be exposed to THE WORLD!!