Biden claims 'Black man invented light bulb' and not 'White man named Edison' at Kenosha church
Joe Biden on Thursday, September 3, claimed that the light bulb was not invented by Edison, a White man, but that a Black man was behind it. He made the remark while giving a speech at the Grace Lutheran Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Biden visited Kenosha, the city in the news these days because of the Jacob Blake shooting after President Donald Trump made an appearance there earlier this week. After meeting in private with the Blake family, the Democratic candidate spoke with the community leaders that included small business owners, civic leaders, police chiefs and residents at the church. During his address, he also mentioned examples of racial inequality in different institutions, including the education system.
"I cannot guarantee everything gets solved in four years, but I guarantee you one thing, it will be a whole heck of a lot better. We will move a lot further down the road," he said before asking: "Why in God's name don't we teach history in history classes? A Black man invented the light bulb, not a White guy named Edison. Okay. There's so much. Did anybody know?"
The 77-year-old added, "That Black Wall Street in Oklahoma was burned to the ground. Anybody know? We don't teach them. We have to give people facts. Teach them what is out there. The idea."
In his Thursday speech, Biden seemed to be referring to Lewis Howard Latimer for the invention of the lightbulb. Latimer worked with Edison, who first invented the lightbulb in 1879 and got it patented in January 1880. According to Lemelson-MIT, "Edison's prototypical light bulb was lit by a glowing, electrified filament made of paper, which unfortunately burnt out rather quickly. Latimer created a light bulb with a filament made of the much more durable carbon. He sold the patent for the "Incandescent Electric Light Bulb with Carbon Filament" to the United States Electric Company in 1881, but he did not rest on his laurels.
"Latimer went on to patent a process for efficiently manufacturing the carbon filament (1882) and developed the now-familiar threaded socket (though his was wooden) for his improved bulb. Moreover, Latimer wrote the first book on electric lighting, 'Incandescent Electric Lighting' (1890) and supervised the installation of public electric lights throughout New York, Philadelphia, Montreal and London."
During his speech, Biden also attempted to make the environment lighter as he joked he will stop discussing the extent of his tax policy before "they'll shoot me." "19 corporations making a billion dollars a piece don't pay a single thing in taxes. I don't want to punish anybody, but everyone should pay their fair share. Not going to lay [it all out] right now because they'll shoot me," he added.
Earlier, when Trump visited the city, he refused to meet the family of the 29-year-old Black man, who was shot at least seven times in the back in presence of his three children. The shooting happened on August 23 when police came to the 2800 block of 40th Street in Kenosha after Blake's girlfriend "reported that her boyfriend was present and was not supposed to be on the premises". The incident left Blake severely injured and was rushed to the Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, where he is in stable condition.