Garrett Morgan
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Businessman, inventor, community leader.
Garrett Morgan was born in 1877 in Kentucky to parents who were both freed slaves. Morgan grew up in an almost exclusively Black community in Kentucky, and only received a 6th grade education. After that, he moved to Ohio in search of work when he was just 14 years old. Occurrences such as this were common for African American children during this time. Fortunately for Morgan, with some of the money he earned from working as a handyman, he was able to hire a tutor and continue his education.
When he was 18, he procured a job fixing sewing machines, which began his long interest in how things worked. He continued to build his repair reputation, and this would lead to his first inventions – a belt fastener for sewing machines and a zigzag attachment – but it would not be until 1912 that he received his first patent. At 30, he opened his own sewing machine business. A year later, he and his wife opened Morgan’s Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store.
Around this time, Morgan also became more conscious of his community and the economic and social issues it faced. In 1908, Morgan helped to organize the Cleveland Association of Coloured Men, which focused on lectures, social events, regular meetings of issues of interest for the local Black community and investigated discriminatory practices. This organization eventually merged with the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).
