well New Jersey is known for its most famous inventor the great Thomas Edison but what about the number of innovators whose stories have never been told or were suppressed like those of many black inventors North Jersey resident and innovator himself James Howard is on a mission to highlight the contributions of black inventors both past and present by opening a museum to Showcase their work and he's on the cusp of making it a reality James Howard is in the studio with me now for more James great to meet you what inspired to set out on this venture to create a museum wow I would say about four years ago I was sitting in a studio similar to this except it was virtual so and the producer at the end of that show had asked me he says James you know you know so much about black inventors and you know so much about history he says have you ever thought about opening up a black inventors Hall of Fame and that just sort of marinated for about 3 months and three months later he and I were both opening up the black and venors Hall of Fame so you start this nonprofit who and what are you looking to highlight who are some of the inventors you think the public needs to know about oh yes we're going to begin with Ellen Eglin she is a domestic servant from Washington DC who in 1888 designed a clothes ringing device that revolutionized that industry problem was she was afraid to get her name out there so rather than sign the patent in her name she gave over the rights to an agent he went on to make millions on this device she made $18 right and when that's 3 years later why she sold her patent for so little this is what she said you know I'm black and if it been known that a colored woman designed the product white women would not have purchased it Ellen Eglin she said that for a women's a shortlived women's Innovation magazine yeah that's powerful and and I must think that there are so many similar stories like that and more that you've Unearthed oh yes indeed the the most poignant in fact is that of Charles Frederick Page and Charles Frederick page was an enslaved man who raised 13 kids self-taught right and yet he was ambitious enough to design an Airship and then have the audacity and the passion to try to sell that Airship not necessarily sell it but try to ship that Airship off to the 1904 Louisiana Worlds Fair wow well Briana unfortunately he had never made it it was stolen it was interrupted and the world has never seen Charles Frederick Page's Airship however we are in fact building and recreating the Airship for the museum so guests will be able to come and see for the first time what this man envisioned right the largeness the grandeur and he had pawned all of his hopes and dreams into having that Airship arrive at the Louisiana airs World's Fair because it was a competition and everyone around the world submitted their planes and their airships and everything here's never made it but here's an interesting fact he acquired his patent two years later exactly 42 days before the Wright brothers attained their patent wow now think about that I mean that is remarkable and the way that that changes the course of history right so I mean you're a historian also by by trade and a lot of research has to go into this I know it's looking like you're going to acquire a space in West Orange um to be able to put this Museum out there for folks um and so what do you want them to know and and what should people know about coming to see this work I mean this Ingenuity I think what I want them to know is that this is a place for everyone right to become inspired to become informed right and there's this humanistic quality in all of us that just wants to know how others achieve right and at the core of my mission is to influence young impressionable black kids who will see for the first time that this is a story with Charles Frederick page as you mentioned about history this is a story that no one knows about and can you imagine that if the dream had not been interrupted how many more young impression may have aspired to be Pilots right right may have aspired to be engineers and may have aspired to Dream Big James Howard thank you so much for your inspiration thank you for coming in my absolute pleasure thank you [Music]