Globally, the year 2020 has been challenging with the taunt of the pandemic that ravaged lives and economies. Black businesses and innovators were particularly the hardest hit as many of them struggled to stay afloat, particularly during the lockdown period.
Nonetheless, some of them have managed to thrive and succeed in the midst of all the uncertainty and Black kids and teens were not left out.
According to Chadwick Boseman, “African is young, gifted, and Black.” A number of young people curated innovative ideas to proffer solutions to some problems in a way to enhance better living and even social justice.
Keashon Harris
Keashon Harris, 12, designed a homemade invention named S.A.M (Social Distancing Machine) which beeps when people are closer than the recommended 6 feet.
It was designed in response to calls for people to social distance by keeping a distance of 6 feet or 2 meters away from people following the coronavirus pandemic.
Kelvin Odartei
Kelvin Odartei, 18, came into the limelight after videos of him driving in his Lamborghini-like car to school on the last day of his Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) went viral on social media.
The young creative genius started building the car when he was just 14. “I saw a moving plane passing by and something told me to build a plane so from that day I started building an aeroplane. It led to a stage, when it reached that stage, how I wanted the aeroplane to fly, I couldn’t have it like that so I decided to build a car,” he said.
Stephen Wamukota
Stephen Wamukota is a nine-year-old Kenyan boy who made a wooden hand-washing machine to aid in the fight against COVID-19. In recognition of his work, he received a presidential award. He was named by Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta as a recipient of the Uzalendo Award.
Wamukota came up with the idea after learning on TV about ways to prevent catching the virus. He created a hand-washing machine that helps users clean their hands without touching it, thereby minimizing any possible contact with the disease during the process.
Jay’Aina Patton
Jay’Aina Patton was just three years old when her father, Antoine Patton fell foul of the law, leading to his incarceration for gun possession.
The only way she could communicate with her father was via “snail mail”, an ordinary U.S. postal mail which is said to lack the speed, efficiency and often “the personality of modern communication tools like email, social media and text messaging.”
The grueling experiences Patton went through just to have a relationship with her father when he was in prison would motivate her to design and develop a much needed mobile application, “Photo Patch”, to help children maintain healthy relationships with their parents who are serving time in prison. The app has gained nearly 2,000 users and has been downloaded over 10,000 times since its launch.
Bellen Woodard
Bellen Woodard is a crayon activist. She created her own multicultural crayons through her ‘More than Peach project’ after realizing there was no crayon that truly represented her skin shade.
Earlier this month, she was named Time Magazine’s Kid of the Year honoree, making her one of the youngest to make it to the top five out of over 5000 candidates.
The efforts of the 10-year-old to bridge the diversity gap has not gone unnoticed. The Virginia General Assembly, Virginia’s legislative body, passed the “Bellen Bill” to honor her works with her non-profit.
