Unique Coloring

01/12/2023

Greetings, my Unique People! I have a very special video for you today. 🙌

It was teased in a recent YouTube quiz, but the Pullman Porters black history explainer is now live for viewing. The Pullman porters were the first all-black labor union in America. 🚂

They were “African American” men who worked as servants on the luxury railroad cars owned by the Pullman Company in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 🧳

They faced long hours, low wages, and constant racism from their employer and passengers. 😡

But they also became a powerful force for social change, spreading ideas and information across the country, supporting the Great Migration, and launching the civil rights movement.

In this video, I will tell you the amazing story of the Pullman Porters, their struggles, their achievements, and their legacy.

You’ll learn how they organized themselves, how they fought for their rights, and how they influenced American history and culture. 📚

This is a video you don't want to miss. Watch the video now.

To those who post positive comments, stay subscribed, and contribute monetarily to the work…much appreciated!

19/11/2023

This image is a clue for my next video. Do you have any idea what it is? Make your best guess and watch the video when it launches to see if you nailed it!

Or take the quiz in the YouTube Community tab.

01/09/2023

We are the descendants of kings and queens, of warriors and scholars, of artists and activists. We have a rich and diverse heritage that spans continents and cultures. We have overcome slavery, oppression, and discrimination to achieve historic accomplishments in every field of human endeavor.

We are not defined by our struggles but by our triumphs. We are not limited by our circumstances but by our willingness. We are not victims but victors. We are not stereotypes but trendsetters. We are not a problem but a solution.

We are black excellence, and we are here to uplift the culture and our communities. We celebrate our achievements, we honor our ancestors, we support our peers, and we inspire our future generations.

Join us in celebrating black excellence this day and every day. Share your stories, your goals, your dreams, and your successes with one another. Tag your posts with and let the world see the beauty and brilliance of black culture.

Together, we rise. ✊🏾

19/08/2023

Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner was a remarkable inventor. She created several products that improved the lives of many people. She faced racism throughout her life, but she did not let it stop her from patenting inventions. Mary received five patents in total. They included a modification of the sanitary belt with a moisture-resistant pocket, an attachment for a walker or wheelchair that included a tray and a pocket, a toilet paper holder that allowed the loose end to be accessible at all times, and a mounted back washer and massager.

Mary Kenner came from a family of creative thinkers. She was born on May 7, 1912 in Monroe, North Carolina. Her father, Sidney Nathaniel Davidson, invented a clothing presser in 1914. It was small enough to fit inside a suitcase. Her grandfather on her mother’s side, Robert Phromeberger, invented two things: a tricolor light signal for trains and a wheeled stretcher for ambulances.

Kenner’s sister, Mildred Davidson Austin Smith, invented a board game in 1980.

Kenner had a knack for finding inventive solutions to problems since she was a young child. At the age of six, the door in her family home squeaked every time her mother left for work early. Kenner tried to invent a door hinge that could oil itself. Wet umbrellas were also a challenge. She invented a sponge at the end of an umbrella to absorb rainwater. She wanted to prevent water dripping on the floor. And a portable ashtray she created could attach to a cigarette pack.

Kenner had a curious and inventive mind that always came up with new ideas. She loved to visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, DC. Her family moved to the capital in 1924 when she was 12. She had a habit of checking to see if anyone had already patented her inventions. Most of the time, she found out that her ideas were original and unique. Kenner finished high school at Dunbar in 1931.

To read the full article, visit: https://uniquecoloring.com/articles/mary-beatrice-davidson-kenner

16/08/2023

Born on June 15, 1868, John Stanard was a Black inventor who made significant contributions to the development of the refrigerator and the oil stove. Despite facing racial discrimination in the United States, he transformed the modern kitchen with his innovative designs and secured two patents for his inventions. His name is often misspelled as “Standard,” but his patent documents clearly show that he used the spelling “Stanard.” Not much is known about his personal life, but his patent records provide detailed illustrations of his inventions.

Stanard’s invention was not the first refrigerator, nor did he invent the v***r compression or the gas liquefaction techniques that enabled modern refrigeration. These breakthroughs had been achieved by others decades before he obtained his patent. What Stanard did was design a separate ice chamber that could be manually filled and attached to the main refrigerator unit. This improved the efficiency and convenience of refrigeration.

Before he patented his refrigerator design, Stanard had also invented a new type of oil stove that was more compact and versatile. He claimed that his stove could be used for train catering, as it allowed for buffet-style meals. He got U.S. Patent No. 413,689 for his improved Stanard stovetop on Oct. 29, 1889.

If you’d like to learn more about John Stanard and his inventions, let me know in the comments, and I might consider turning this into a full article.

19/07/2023

We are thrilled to announce that our YouTube channel, Unique Coloring, has reached 1 million views! 🎉🎉🎉

This is a huge milestone for us and we want to thank you all for your amazing support and feedback. You are the reason we do what we do: sharing hidden stories of black excellence that educate and inspire. 🙌🏾

We are so grateful for this community and we hope you continue to enjoy our content. We have some exciting plans for the future, so stay tuned! 😊

If you haven’t checked out our channel yet, what are you waiting for? Click the link and join us on this journey of celebrating our unique coloring: https://www.youtube.com/uniquecoloring

06/07/2023

We did it! 🎉 10,000 subscribers on YouTube! 🙌 I’m so grateful for all of the support and love. My subscribers are the best! Thank you for watching my videos, liking, commenting, and sharing. You make this journey so much fun and rewarding. 😊 I have some exciting plans for the future, so stay tuned! 🙏 And if you haven’t subscribed yet, what are you waiting for? 😜 Visit the channel here: https://www.youtube.com//featured🔗

01/07/2023

Do you know the story of Bridget “Biddy” Mason? She was born enslaved, walked 1,700 miles to freedom, became a wealthy landowner and philanthropist in Los Angeles, and founded the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in the city. She was an American hero and a trailblazer whose story is being told in a dynamic way.

Don’t miss our explainer video premiere on Sunday July 2 2023 at 6 pm EST, where we’ll walk you through her amazing life and legacy. You’ll be inspired by her courage, resilience, and generosity.

Join us on YouTube and share this post with your friends. Let’s celebrate and with ! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Au5YhMUvK4

06/02/2023

Manlius Library featured me on their page on February 6, 2023. What an honor to be named among unsung black figures and subjects during their Black History Month celebration!

20/10/2022

When blacks in America faced insurmountable obstacles due to rampant and systemic racism, Mary Ellen Pleasant amassed a fortune and became a self-made millionaire before any other black female American, including Madame C.J. Walker. As a young adult, Mary became a participant in the Underground Railroad and helped enslaved people flee the South. She was an active abolitionist during the period of the Gold Rush and financed the infamous 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry in Virginia, led by John Brown. Mary was also a savvy investor, with stakes in railroads, real estate, gold and silver mines, boarding houses, dairies, restaurants, and Wells Fargo Bank. Some estimate that her fortune reached $30 million at its height—close to $1 billion in today’s currency. The 1890 U.S. census listed her as “a capitalist by profession.”

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Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

Mary Ellen Pleasant was a self-made millionaire and leading abolitionist who rose to fame and suffered infamy in San Francisco.

02/10/2022

Check out our new black history explainer video featuring Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the black founder of Chicago, Illinois. You can watch it on YouTube at this link: https://youtu.be/8S2HcmTEtRk

Learn more about Jean Baptiste and other important figures in black history at the link in our profile.

Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

https://www.uniquecoloring.com/ – In this episode of Unique Coloring, The Black Founder of Chicago, Daniel J. Middleton discusses Jean Baptiste Point du Sabl...

08/07/2022

On Thursday, June 7, 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden awarded Simone Biles with the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the highest civilian honor in the country—for advocating for sexual abuse victims and bringing awareness to mental health. Biles, who is 25, became the youngest recipient of the award.

Learn more about Simone and other important figures in black history at the link in our profile.

Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

03/06/2022

We continue the 2022 Black Birders Week celebration with Dr. Kassandra Ford who is featured in my new coloring book, 12 Modern Black Birders!

Dr. Kassandra Ford successfully defended her PhD dissertation, “Mosaic Evolution of Craniofacial Morphologies in Apteronotid and Mormyrid Weakly Electric Fishes,” in summer 2021. She then flew to Switzerland to begin a short-term postdoctoral research position at the University of Bern. In April 2021, the National Science Foundation also awarded a postdoctoral research fellowship in biology, which begins in June 2022 at George Washington University.

Learn more about Black Birders Week at The Black AF in STEM Collective

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Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

Dr. Kassandra Ford is a postdoctoral researcher who studies the evolution of electric fishes from South America and Africa. She is also an avid birder.

03/06/2022

We continue the 2022 Black Birders Week celebration with Dr. Mamie Parker who is featured in my new coloring book, 12 Modern Black Birders!

Dr. Mamie Parker, who grew up loving the outdoors through her mother’s influence, became a powerhouse in wildlife conservation. She enjoyed a diverse career that saw several firsts, such as being named a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) regional director. No black woman before her can claim that. In her role as regional director, she oversaw thirteen states in the northeast and spearheaded the removal of dams that impeded the annual migration of Atlantic salmon. Officials promoted Dr. Parker to Head of Fisheries and assistant director in the early 2000s. The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Board also elected Dr. Parker as its first black female chair in 2019.

Learn more about Black Birders Week at The Black AF in STEM Collective

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Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

Dr. Mamie Parker has been a professional fish and wildlife biologist whose conservation work has protected various fish, birds, and other wildlife species.

02/06/2022

We continue the 2022 Black Birders Week celebration with Christian Cooper who is featured in my new coloring book, 12 Modern Black Birders!

A Central Park incident involving Christian Cooper sparked a hashtag that went viral in 2020: . On May 25, 2020, he was birdwatching in a wooded and protected area of the park known as the Ramble when a white woman named Amy Cooper (who is no relation to Christian) crossed his path. She was walking a dog off-leash in violation of the rules of the Ramble. When Christian politely asked her to leash her dog, the situation quickly escalated. Amy became agitated, which prompted Christian to pull out his phone and begin recording. Amy was angry and worked up as she stormed toward him, insisting that he stop recording her. When he did not, she pulled out her phone to call the police, saying, “I’m going to tell them there’s an African American man threatening my life.”

Learn more about Black Birders Week at The Black AF in STEM Collective

Click image to read more.

Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

Christian Cooper is a board member of the National Audubon Society, who, on May 25, 2020, filmed a racist incident he endured in Central Park while birding.

02/06/2022

We continue the 2022 Black Birders Week celebration with J. Drew Lanham who is featured in my new coloring book, 12 Modern Black Birders!

Dr. J. Drew Lanham wrote an essay for a 2013 issue of Orion magazine titled, “9 Rules for the Black Birdwatcher.” The article quickly led to a short video of the same name, which resonated with black birders throughout the country. Drew wrote essays and poetry for other publications, including Wilderness, Flycatcher, Slate, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, Audubon, and others. In 2018, he was named Poet Laureate of Edgefield, South Carolina, and in 2019, he released a poetry collection, Sparrow Envy—Poems. Drew is the author of the award-winning The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature. Drew teaches wildlife ecology and holds an Alumni Distinguished Professorship at Clemson University. In 2012, he was named an Alumni Master Teacher.

Learn more about Black Birders Week at The Black AF in STEM Collective

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Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

J. Drew Lanham is an avid birder, Master Teacher, and Certified Wildlife Biologist who teaches wildlife ecology at Clemson University.

01/06/2022

We continue the 2022 Black Birders Week celebration with Brianna Amingwa who is featured in my new coloring book, 12 Modern Black Birders!

Brianna Amingwa is working to create change both locally and nationally in her role as leader of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Environmental Education Community of Practice. The teachers and students she works with actively participate and engage in shared learning that fosters environmental literacy and sustainability practices.

Learn more about Black Birders Week at The Black AF in STEM Collective

Click image to read more.

Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

Brianna Amingwa is an avid birder and the education supervisor at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, the first urban wildlife refuge in the U.S.

01/06/2022

We continue the 2022 Black Birders Week celebration with Tolga Aktas who is featured in my new coloring book, 12 Modern Black Birders!

Tolga Aktas—a conservation biologist based in the United Kingdom—is part Jamaican part Turkish Cypriot. His upbringing led to a love of nature that he pursued as a career later in life. Tolga has since traveled to Africa, Borneo, and distant regions of the United Kingdom to conduct field research and volunteer for various wildlife conversation projects.

Learn more about Black Birders Week at The Black AF in STEM Collective

Click image to read more.

Also, you can purchase my books here: https://uniquecoloring.com/books

Tolga Aktas is a conservation biologist, environmental photojournalist, and writer whose primary interests are wildlife biology, ecology, rewilding, and conservation.