In case it's been a few years since you took a US history class, this is Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin.
But, weirdly enough, a ton of people are suddenly realizing they were incorrectly taught that Eli Whitney was black.
yearly reminder that half the country was incorrectly taught that eli whitney was black
And now everyone's absolutely reeling.
@rembert ...Um...yeah, count me among those who were apparently taught incorrectly. Whoa.
@rembert wait what the hell... WHAT THE HELL.
I'm still reeling from learning that people are taught that Eli Whitney was black. That's some real messed up stuff… https://t.co/UYNFIwdA31
Many vividly recalled learning he was black in school.
What the hell? I've always been taught he was black and I took and passed AP US History https://t.co/TGm6IFF4y1
Went to public school in Ohio. They taught he was black. That's seriously messed up. https://t.co/eSrX6BseSu
I was definitely, absolutely taught that Eli Whitney was black in both Kansas and Florida elementary schools. https://t.co/R0p7koJ94O
hold up: was i the only person who learned about eli whitney during black history month and therefore assumed he was black?
Mind. Blown. WTF Indianapolis Public Schools?! https://t.co/Tfh09S24GX
Some even knew of posters they'd seen in school with that info.
Schaumburg High School's highest and lowest point. #FebruaryIsBlackHistoryMonth
I remember seeing a him on a poster with great Black inventors at my middle school😕😕😕 https://t.co/IyOlSDK7de
And some said they did reports on Whitney for Black History Month.
I had to do a presentation on him for BHM in 5th grade. I was so damn confused... https://t.co/isr7BzqOGq
CAN WE TALK ABOUT THIS?!?!! I WAS ASSIGNED A BOOK REPORT ON ELI WHITNEY IN THE SIXTH GRADE FOR BLACK HISTORY MONTH… https://t.co/jYlUgbhpzT
Perhaps most notably, Whitney shows up in the lyrics of "You Must Learn" by KRS-One, among a list of other African-American inventors and leaders.
A few people have said they thought Whitney was one of the first wealthy black Americans due to his invention.
@rembert Not only did we learn he was Af-Am, we learned he became one of the first wealthy Af-Ams *because* of it.
And some have theorized this collective misremembering may be due to an unproven claim that Whitney stole the idea for the cotton gin from one of his slaves.
While no documentation can prove this claim, many people believe it is possible because a slave wouldn't have been legally able to register patents.
As the African American Registry, an education nonprofit, explains:
African slaves, because they were not citizens, could not register any invention with the patent office. Their owners could not register a slave's invention either, since the law required that the patent be issued to the actual inventor. Consequently, any free person wanting to patent something could not acknowledge any contribution from a slave. Thus it was easy to steal a slave's ideas and patent them.
While Browne's tweet caused many to realize everything they knew was a lie, this isn't the first time people were left baffled over Whitney's whiteness.
Others think this is just another case of "the Mandela effect," the phenomenon of a large group of people misremembering the exact same thing.
No one was incorrectly taught, this is just another Mandela Effect. https://t.co/rhC4I6KoGh
I'm 100% convinced this is some Mandela Effect shit. https://t.co/2E1EwRgHGN
This is my berenstain bears moment except the explanation is pervasive white supremacy https://t.co/TDgU7DmakO
my first reaction is WHAT OF COURSE HE WAS BLACK my second reaction is to read that article about Shazam again https://t.co/8xD9wEi5TY
Black History Month has been co-opted by the Mandela Effect. https://t.co/0Na5bLy2FV