Learning Black History Year Round
When she was 7 years old, Bessie Blount Griffin was slapped on the knuckles for writing with her left hand. So she taught herself to write with a pencil in her mouth and with her toes, because if it was “wrong to write with my left hand, then it was wrong to write with my right hand.”
That incident, along with her creativity, would drive her throughout her extensive career as a nurse, physical therapist, inventor and forensic handwriting and document analyst.
Blount was born in Hickory, Va., in 1914. After moving to New Jersey with her family, she studied nursing at Kenney Memorial Hospital and then went on to study physical therapy at Union Junior College, becoming a licensed physiotherapist.
Many of Blount’s patients were World War II veterans whose arms had been amputated. She taught them to write with their teeth and feet. A doctor at Bronx Hospital suggested Blount create a device the patients could use to feed themselves. And she did.
Blount spent 10 months developing her first design of what she called an invalid feeder. She worked in her kitchen, and used plastic, a file, an ice pick, a hammer, dishes, and boiling water to melt the plastic into a mold.
In April 1951, Blount received a patent for part of the design. She spent the next four years and $3,000 making improvements creating a working model made of stainless steel, which she demonstrated at a New Jersey hospital. She received a standing ovation.
To operate the invalid feeder, a patient would bite down on a tube to activate a motor and a morsel of food would be dispensed through a spoon-shaped mouthpiece.
The device would automatically shut off between each delivery, allowing the patient time to chew.
The U.S. government showed no enthusiasm about the invalid feeder and therefore would not pay Blount’s asking price of $100,000.
She then located a Canadian company that agreed to manufacture the device. She eventually signed the rights over to the French government for use in its military hospitals.
As Blount continued working as a nurse, she began noticing patterns in her patients’ handwriting: it would change as they progressed in their physical therapy.
This discovery not only inspired her to publish a technical paper on medical graphology, but also expanded her career in forensics.
In 1969, Blount’s career took a turn: She studied to become a forensic scientist and entered into law enforcement.
As a forensic scientist, she read slave papers and Civil War documents. In 1977, she became the first African-American woman to work for England’s Scotland Yard.
Blount would later start her own business, using her forensic experience to examine documents and slave papers and Civil War documents until the age of 83.
An avid public speaker, Blount traveled nationwide and talked to school audiences, civic groups, and other organizations about her life’s work.
Blount, known as “savior of the handicapped,” died Dec. 30, 2009 at age 95.
Tamara Shiloh
Tamara Shiloh has published the first two books in her historical fiction chapter book series,
Just Imagine…What If There Were No Black People in the World is about African American inventors, scientists and other notable Black people in history. The two books are
Jaxon’s Magical Adventure with Black Inventors and Scientists and
Jaxon and Kevin’s Black History Trip Downtown. Tamara Shiloh has also written a book a picture book for Scholastic,
Cameron Teaches Black History, that will be available in June, 2022.
Tamara Shiloh’s other writing experiences include: writing the Black History column for the Post Newspaper in the Bay area, Creator and Instruction of the black History Class for Educators a professional development class for teachers and her non-profit offers a free Black History literacy/STEM/Podcast class for kids 3d – 8th grade which also includes the Let’s Go Learn Reading and Essence and tutorial program. She is also the owner of the Multicultural Bookstore and Gifts, in Richmond, California,
Previously in her early life she was the /Editor-in-Chief of
Desert Diamonds Magazine, highlighting the accomplishments of minority women in Nevada; assisting with the creation, design and writing of a Los Angeles-based, herbal magazine entitled
Herbal Essence; editorial contribution to
Homes of Color; Editor-in-Chief of
Black Insight Magazine, the first digital, interactive magazine for African Americans; profile creations for sports figures on the now defunct PublicFigure.com; newsletters for various businesses and organizations; and her own Las Vegas community newsletter,
Tween Time News, a monthly publication highlighting music entertainment in the various venues of Las Vegas.
She is a member of:
- Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
- Richmond Chamber of Commerce
- Point Richmond Business Association
- National Association of Professional Women (NAPW)
- Independent Book Publishers Association (IPBA)
- California Writers Club-Berkeley & Marin
- Richmond CA Kiwanis
- Richmond CA Rotary
- Bay Area Girls Club
Tamara Shiloh, a native of Northern California, has two adult children, one grandson and four great-grand sons. She resides in Point Richmond, CA with her husband, Ernest.
www.multiculturalbookstore.com
