
08/03/2025
🚛 The Truck Still Runs.
But do you know who made that engine possible?
Before Teslas.
Before hybrids.
Before your Uber driver pulled up with three chargers and no brakes…
There was Clessie Lyle Cummins —
A high school dropout who turned diesel engines into legends.
But let’s get this straight:
🛠️ Clessie didn’t do it alone.
Because behind every roaring diesel engine…
Were brilliant Black engineers and mechanics—
Working in the shadows. Left out of the credits.
But building power that moved the world.
Clessie wasn’t your average boss.
While other companies were locking doors…
He was opening them.
🗝️ He hired Black talent when others wouldn’t.
🧠 He respected brilliance over bias.
⚙️ And together, they refined diesel engines so efficient, it changed everything.
Freight trains.
Military trucks.
Submarines.
Even a diesel-powered car that drove across the U.S. on $1.38 worth of fuel.
Yes — $1.38.
While y’all crying at the Chevron pump. 😭
But history left out the real story:
📍 How many Black mechanics made the machines run… but never got mentioned?
📍 How many names were lost while others took the spotlight?
📍 And how many young geniuses would dream bigger if they knew the truth under the hood?
⸻
Clessie didn’t just build diesel dominance.
He built dignity.
And helped open lanes — literally and socially.
So today, when your bus shows up…
When your truck starts without protest…
When your generator kicks in during a storm…
👏🏾 Remember the minds behind it.
📣 Send this to a trucker.
Text it to your mechanic uncle.
Drop it in your gearhead group chat.
And feel free to follow the page if you want more history that moves the world — even if school never taught it. 💡