Black Inventors Hall of Fame

By: Josh Sloat

What They See, They Will Be

In this month's podcast episode, we’re looking at one man’s efforts to immortalize the pioneering genius of African American inventors from the past 400 years. Our special guest today is James Howard, founder and Executive Director of the Black Inventors Hall of Fame.

​James Howard is a college professor, design historian, entrepreneur, industrial designer, inventor, filmmaker, and restauranteur. He brings over 25 years of experience as a design professor and has authored a course on Design Thinking and Design History that explores the impact of design on society. As an accomplished Industrial Design educator and entrepreneur, Howard has lectured on the experience of Black American inventors. Howard himself is an extraordinary inventor with 20 patents, several of which we discuss, cover innovations that save people's lives daily. 

James' life work is now culminating in his mission of bringing a broad and detailed awareness to the important work of African American inventors, artists, and innovators who have inspired and forged ahead against tremendous odds and adversity. In creating the Black Inventors Hall of Fame, James hopes to have a place where kids of all ages and persuasions can go and be inspired to become the next generation of great scientists, engineers, doctors, and inventors. Because like the great inventor Lonnie Johnson says, “What they see, they will be.”  

Episode Overview

​James and I cover a wide range of topics, including:

• His origin story as an inventor and how his inventions are inspiring his grandkids on their own innovation journeys.
• The genesis and motivation for the Black Inventors Hall of Fame.
• What advice he gives to those newer to inventing.
• Biggest learnings from the greats featured in his Black Inventors Got Game documentary.
• What we should be doing to support and inspire today’s youth and the next generation of inventors.
• In honor of Black History Month, we discuss some black inventors whose inventions help shape daily life but aren’t yet household names.

Mossoff Minute: Masimo v. Apple and the Media

In this month's Mossoff Minute, Professor Adam Mossoff discusses how there’s a pirate living in your Apple Watch and why the media’s coverage of Apple’s predatory infringement of Masimo's patents is missing the mark. We’re also publishing excerpts as short-form videos on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and TikTok.
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How to listen

Patently Strategic is available on all major podcasting directories, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts. We're also available on 12 other directories including Stitcher, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn, so you should be able to find us wherever you listen to podcasts.

Resources.

​To further explore the topics discussed, see the following past episodes and resources:

• Black Inventors Hall of Fame. A virtual museum (soon to be physical) that serves as a platform for telling the story of talented African American innovators.
• BIGG documentary: The Gathering. James Howard’s documentary about four African American inventors and their groundbreaking contributions to the toy and game industry.
• Tech Boy. 12-year-old DeJuan Strickland wrote the book James mentioned to encourage youth by showing them the superpowers of STEM. 
• Inventor Stories Vol. 1. This episode with James is our second (of many more to come!) focused on inventor stories. The first features a sit down with three very innovative, up-and-coming inventors, all winners of our annual RISE Award.

Transcripts​
We're also providing computer-generated transcripts for improved accessibility and additional reference opportunities. 
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