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Henry Blair

By Brandon

Hello, my name is Henry Blair. The day was October 14, 1934 and I was about to receive my own U.S. patent for my invention of the Seed Planter. After my long years of hard work I would finally find success for it all.

As a boy I had to deal with discrimination from many white people along with my 2 parents because I was not enslaved like other African Americans. As I grew older, I aspired to have my own farm. When I became of age, it did not take long for me to accomplish this goal, but it wasn't easy neither because of the fact that I still had to deal with discrimination and hate from everyone else because of my success. But I didn't let any of that effect me.

As I continued my job as a farmer, I found it difficult to do my job. Planting seeds became hard because of how many I had to plant in such little time. This difficulty inspired me to find a solution to my problem. After a long process I finally made my first prototype of the seed planter.

Today, October 14, 1834, is the day that I finally received my own U.S. patent. I am the 2nd colored man to receive one. When I was there to get my patent, there were many white people staring and murmuring. Mostly because they'd never seen a colored person in this type of spot before. When my name is called up, a shiver goes down my spine. I can hear the murmuring grow louder. I go up and after I am hesitantly handed my patent. I didn't receive as much attention for my accomplishment. Mostly because I was overshadowed by the first person to receive one, "Thomas L Jennings." But the other reason was probably because my invention was overshadowed by even more modern versions of the seed planter.

Though I might not receive more popularity than I have now, I can find peace in the fact that I changed the world for a lot of people. I was the reason for why inventions like the combine harvester exist today. I made harvesting and collecting crops easier for farmers all around.

By Brandon

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