From stoplights to rockets, light bulbs to legislation, power-producing soccer balls to changing the rules of the game, six remarkable Black Americans pioneered innovations that advanced industries and saved lives. Lewis Latimer, Granville T. Woods, Garrett Morgan, Annie Easley, Hazel O’Leary, and Jessica O. Matthews stand out for their achievements in the engineering and power sectors, where they overcame racial and gender barriers to become leaders in their industries.

Their contributions have helped improve everyday life and advance our nation’s growth, and their examples have inspired other entrepreneurs, inventors, and pioneers to continue their legacy.

Lewis Howard Latimer (1848–1928) was an inventor and patent writer best known for his improvement of Thomas Edison’s original light bulb design with the use of a carbon filament. This new design enabled the first widespread public and private use of electric light.

The son of former slaves, Lewis was primarily self-taught. During his service in the Union Navy during the Civil War, Lewis developed his mechanical drawing skills. His inventions and progress as a draftsman, patent expert, and inventor were largely due to his hard work and analytical and observant approach to life.

Over the course of his career, Lewis worked for both Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. Lewis published a book in 1890 about how incandescent lamps produce light, which was popular due to its accessible explanations. Outside of work, Lewis found opportunities to share his knowledge with others, teaching mechanical engineering, drawing, and English to immigrants in New York City. Lewis’ talents extended beyond technology and drafting; he also painted, played the flute, and wrote poetry.

Granville T. Woods (1856–1910) registered more than 50 patents during his life. His inventions significantly advanced the telecommunication and transportation industries.

Granville’s early career was as an engineer in the railroad and steel industries. However, in the 1870s, Granville decided to take courses in engineering and electricity—knowledge that would fuel his coming inventions. After moving to Cincinnati in 1880, Granville started a company that designed, manufactured, and sold electrical apparatus. In 1887, Granville developed his most significant invention: the inductor or multiplex telegraph, which allowed for voice communication over telegraph wires. Other well-known inventions that Granville developed included an improved telephone transmitter that Alexander Graham Bell bought Granville’s patent for and the troller, a special wheel for street cars that allowed them to collect electricity from overhead wires.

Garrett Morgan (1877–1963), a businessman and newspaper publisher, also pursued inventions. He received patents for a traffic signal and an early version of a gas mask.

The son of freed slaves, Garrett started a sewing machine repair business and tailoring shop in Cleveland, OH. After witnessing a crash between an automobile and a horse-drawn buggy, Garrett developed a stoplight and received a patent for it in 1923. Existing traffic signals at the time only had two positions: stop and go. But Morgan’s design added a third “all hold” light, the predecessor of today’s amber light. He later sold his patent to General Electric Corporation for $40,000. He also invented a “smoke hood” in response to a New York factory fire that killed 146 garment workers. In 1916, Garrett used his smoke hood to help rescue eight tunnel construction workers after an explosion trapped them under Lake Erie.

Annie Easley (1933–2011) is the woman behind the Centaur rocket, which boosted satellites into orbit and propelled probes to space, as well as early hybrid vehicles. As a “human computer,” Annie developed and implemented code to research energy conversion and alternative power technology, such as for solar, wind, and energy projects.

Born in Birmingham, AL, before the Civil Rights Movement, Annie attended a segregated school. After high school, she attended Xavier University in New Orleans, LA, to obtain a pharmacy degree. Before she graduated, marriage brought Annie to Cleveland, OH. However, the local college no longer offered a pharmacy program. In need of a job, Annie searched the newspaper and was inspired by an article written about two sisters who worked as “computers” for the organization now known as NASA. She applied for the job the next day and was hired to weeks later—one of only four African Americans out of 2,500 employees.

While working for the agency, Annie continued her education, and in 1977, obtained a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Cleveland State University. As part of her continuing education, Easley took specialized courses offered by NASA. She retired after an extraordinary 34-year career.

Hazel O’Leary (1937–) is the first woman to hold the position of United States Secretary of Energy. She is a strong advocate for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

As a child, Hazel attended a segregated school in Virginia for many years. Later, her parents sent her to live with her aunt in New Jersey in hopes she would receive a better education there. Hazel went on to earn to receive her Bachelor of Arts and a law degree. Her work led to her being appointed by three U.S. presidents.

First, President Gerald Ford appointed Hazel to the Federal Energy Administration’s office. During her tenure, she gained the support of minority communities and helped lead a community of Native Americans who owned energy-producing lands to have a higher-profile presence in federal energy affairs. A few years later, President Jimmy Carter named Hazel the head of the Department of Energy’s Economic Regulatory Administration, and during President Bill Clinton’s first term, Hazel became the seventh U.S. Secretary of Energy.

Hazel has driven the commercialization of energy-efficient technologies through partnerships with nonprofits and manufacturers. She has also advocated and helped secure funding for clean energy research and development. As a result, many clean energy successes in the U.S. can be traced back to Hazel’s strategic plan.

Jessica O. Matthews (1988-) is an entrepreneur and inventor who first made her mark at just 19 years old with the invention of SOCCKET, an energy-generating soccer ball. Her teenage discovery and genuine inquisitiveness led her to disrupt the tech industry and innovate new ways to generate power to meet the needs of people, businesses, and communities worldwide.

At the age of 22, Jessica founded Uncharted, a power solutions company that helps cities reduce the cost of developing smart infrastructure. As the company’s Founder and CEO, Jessica and her team connect communities to the resources they need to transform their environments to be more intelligent and inclusive, while also leveraging data to achieve the highest level of infrastructural operation and optimization. In 2021, Jessica was appointed by Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm to the Electricity Advisory Committee. As a member of the Smart Grid subcommittee, she plays a key role in advising the Department of Energy on the ways we can modernize our nation’s electric delivery system.