Explore African and Black History, One Story at a Time
In the annals of culinary history, one name stands out: Alexander Ashbourne. His innovation, the biscuit cutter, not only transformed kitchens but also left a […]
Tech & InnovationIn the annals of culinary history, one name stands out: Alexander Ashbourne. His innovation, the biscuit cutter, not only transformed kitchens but also left a lasting impact on the cooking world.
Born in 1820 and departing from this world in 1915, Alexander Ashbourne’s journey was one of ingenuity and determination. In 1875, his groundbreaking invention, patent no. 170,460, announced a new era in biscuit-making. This humble tool would soon grace kitchens and restaurants worldwide, making the once hard process of biscuit shaping easier.
Despite biscuits being a household staple and a fixture in restaurant menus, few were aware of the mastermind behind the uniformity and efficiency of biscuit production. Alexander Ashbourne, an African American innovator, defied odds and redefined culinary norms.
Ashbourne’s path to innovation was paved with hands-on experience. Catering to the elite of Philadelphia, he honed his craft and witnessed firsthand the inefficiencies plaguing biscuit production. It was at the 1863 Emancipation Celebration that Ashbourne’s epiphany struck: there had to be a better way.
Driven by a relentless pursuit of perfection, Ashbourne spent a decade crafting his masterpiece. The result was a marvel of engineering: a spring-loaded biscuit cutter, promising uniformity in shape, size, and efficiency in production. Featuring a hinged board on a metal plate and an array of cutter shapes, his invention changed how chefs cooked.✊🏾
Alexander Ashbourne’s journey of innovation didn’t stop with biscuit cutters. In fact, his impact reached even further, shaping the way we use coconut oil today.
Back in the late 1800s, technological limitations were no match for Ashbourne’s determination. From 1875 to 1880, he dedicated himself to perfecting the refining process of coconut oil, despite the challenges of the time.💪🏾
In 1880, he leveled up again, snagging another patent. This time, he worked his magic on coconut oil, making it super versatile for everyday use!. Through meticulous steps including filtration, bleaching, high-temperature heating, and hydrogenation, Ashbourne transformed coconut oil, removing unsaturated fatty acids and making it suitable for widespread domestic use.
Ashbourne’s revolutionary approach changed the coconut oil industry and opened up new possibilities for its applications. Coconut oil, once limited in use, became a versatile ingredient, finding its way into a wide variety of products, including haircare items, foods, and fragrances.
Thanks to Ashbourne’s advancements, coconut oil became more accessible for mass production and everyday use. This not only increased its commercial value but also made it a staple ingredient in countless households around the world.
Ashbourne’s legacy is not just in the kitchens of yesteryears, but also in the everyday products we use today, a testament to his ingenuity, determination, and the power of innovation.
As the late 1880s approached, Ashbourne, now recognized as the pioneer of biscuit cutting, embarked on a new chapter in Oakland, California. There, he transitioned from inventor to entrepreneur, owning and operating a modest grocery store. His legacy lives on, not only in the kitchens of yesteryears 🎯 but also in the coconut-scented products and uniform biscuits of today.
At the age of 95, Alexander Ashbourne, a man born into slavery, reached the conclusion of his journey, but his impact resonates through generations, serving as a testament to the power of innovation and perseverance. 🙂(Bone Appetit 🍽)
Mr. Turner Introduces First Positive Children’s Show Moorie Turner, Comic Strip Creator of ‘Wee Pals’, was the first black cartoonist in national syndication. As a […]
Tech & InnovationMoorie Turner, Comic Strip Creator of ‘Wee Pals’, was the first black cartoonist in national syndication. As a Blackman, Turner sketched the first Black Comic Strip called ‘Wee Pals,’ which debuted in newspapers in Chicago in 1965.
As a child, were you into comic strips? Do you remember the Saturday morning cartoon KID POWER, which aired on ABC in 1972? Well, Kid Power was based on Moorie Turner’s comic strip. Rankin/Bass, the creators of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, produced the show for television.
According to an article posted by KQED News, “Mr. Turner’s comic strip “Wee Pals,” featuring childhood playmates who were white, black, Asian, Hispanic, and Jewish (joined in later years by a girl in a wheelchair and a deaf girl), was considered subversive in 1965 when a major syndicate first offered it to newspapers.
Only two or three of the hundreds of newspapers in the syndicate picked it up. By early 1968, there were five.
But of the many changes that occurred after the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that April and the urban uprisings it started, some of the first appeared in the nation’s funny papers (“A Passing: Oakland’s Morrie Turner, Creator of ‘Wee Pals’ Comic Strip,” 2014).”
A Passing: Oakland’s Morrie Turner, Creator of “Wee Pals” Comic Strip. (2014, January 29). KQED. https://www.kqed.org/news/124677/a-passing-oaklands-morrie-turner-creator-of-wee-pals-comic-strip
French Code Noir 1685: Death by Religion (Black Codes) In 1635, a Frenchman established a settlement on the island of Martinique. Then, in 1658, King […]
Slave CodesIn 1635, a Frenchman established a settlement on the island of Martinique. Then, in 1658, King Louis XIV of France took control. He would use his power to decree the French Code Noir or Black Codes to administer terror over Black slaves.
King Louis XIV anxiously wanted to convert the Black/Afrikans to Christianity. He and his advisors placed strict limitations on the enslaved inhabitants of the island. They believed that the use of force was the best way to separate Afrikans from their spiritual beliefs.
Eventually, the endgame was to not only indoctrinate the Negro into Christianity but ensure they preserved the Christian religion until their deaths😱.
By 1685, Afrikan slavery under Le Code Noir was adopted. King Louis XIV’s edict or laws to police and control African slaves spread throughout the French-controlled territories of the Caribbean. Interestingly enough, the first article of Le Code Noir (Black Codes) references the expulsion of Jews from the French islands.
Why are Jews mentioned in a set of laws designed to control the Afrikan slaves? Who were these Jews, dark-skinned Hellenized Israelites, or white-skinned Ashkenazi? A Little food for thought🤔.
The edict of Le Code Noir ordered Black Afrikans to be disciplined in Christianity. The condition of slavery would also pass through the mother, NOT the father, ensuring a steady supply of Afrikan slave labor.
Article II: All the slaves who will be in our Islands will be baptized and instructed in the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religions. We charge the planters who will buy newly arrived Negres to inform the Governor and Intendant of the said islands within a week at the latest or face a discretionary fine, these [officials] will give the necessary orders to have them instructed and baptized within an appropriate time.
Article III: We forbid any public exercise of any religion other than the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman; we wish that the offenders be punished as rebels and disobedient to our orders. We prohibit all congregations for this end, which we declare “conventicles,” illicit and seditious. Subject to the same penalty which will be levied even against masters who allow or tolerate them among their slaves.
Article IV: No overseers will be given charge of Negres who do not profess the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religions. On pain of confiscation of the said Negres, from the masters who had given this charge to them, and of discretionary punishment of the overseers who accepted the said charge.
Article VI: We charge all our subjects, whatever their status and condition, to observe Sundays and holidays that are kept by our subjects of the Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman religions. We forbid them to work or to make their slaves work on these days. From the hour of midnight until the other midnight, either in agriculture, manufacturing of sugar, or all other works, on pain of fine and discretionary punishment of the masters and confiscation of the sugar, and of the said slaves who will be caught by our officers in their work.
Article XIV: Masters are held to put into Holy Ground in cemeteries so designated [as will] their baptized slaves; and those who die without having received baptism will be buried at night in some field near the place where they died.
Why would one person or group of people feel driven to abolish another’s spiritual belief system? So compelled to rid the Afrikan slaves of their GOD the punishment for not converting to Christianity was death.
The involuntary relocation of the Afrikan Negro from his homeland was traumatizing enough. To gain complete and unchallenged control of the enslaved nations of Negro people, Code Noir was enforced. Yet, one thing hindered France’s direct rule over them, and that was their spiritual belief system. Nonetheless, stripping the people of their ELOHIM would give France the authority over these people it so desired.
Who did King Louis XIV of France really fear? Did he fear the Negro as an individual or a spiritually unified nation of Negroes?
Did France’s Le Code Noir meet the requirements for ‘Death by Religion ⚔️?’ You Decide🤔 in the comments below.
When you throw a stone at YAH, it lands right on top of your head🎯
(Afrikan Proverb)
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Source: 1685 edict of France, Le Code Noir, The Black Code
https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/1205/2016/02/code-noir.pdf