Watch the Invisible Man

First written February 12, 2015 by Reggie Legend, Author and Founder at Steel Waters Poetry

* inspired by the lyric from Mos Def’s “Hip-Hop” track:
‘…the invisible man’s got the whole world watchin’ !’

** fortified by 20 Black Inventors as read in: http://www.theroot.com/multimedia/20-black-science-and-tech-innovators

For those who, without hesitance,
Doubt the relevance
Of Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man –
They are no doubt, irreverent
To the clout and stout benevolence
That exists throughout the settlements of this indivisible land.

From ­­­­Eric Williams who broached
broken hearts with less invasive stents,
To James West who improved what’s embedded in
this mic to a great extent.
Our race’s stint erases the stench of stagnate arrogance in America’s white noise.
In fact, cats like Thomas Jennings and James Letton
straightened and aired out its errant laundry.
As determined deterred men,
they dried out its damp and invariant philosophy
Through the betterment and daring offerings of Negroes with united poise!

With a presence that resonates throughout time and space,
We’ve proved they can’t just rout and jettison our entire race –
This is not a game — but if it was,
Gerald Lawson would’ve been the first to market it with cartridges.
Just ask George Alcorn in the year of ’84 –
NASA adorned him with its Inventor of the Year Award!…
Thanks to George Carruthers, it’s a picture that clearly forms –
as his creed helped Apollo develop negatives into positives.

Picturing that, if the point doesn’t jump out immediately,
Perhaps our victory lapsed in subtle clout needs HDTV –
Better yet, we can make it 3-D thanks to Mark Hannah and Valerie Thomas.
Yet and still, we go unseen like famous stars in tented Cadillacs
Until someone like Patricia Beth uses lasers to carve off intended cataracts…
These are OUR forefathers and mothers of invention
who battled back from what Valkyries dishonestly tarnished.

Rather, instead of them living on in our memories,
They’ve been put to sleep like some distant dream.
They’ve faded in blackouts of history — relegated to thin lines between death and sleep.
Far from marginal, these lines align lies with n-word ignorance
To marginalize the despised despite our inward brilliance…
Caramelized as carnal lies to pilfer our resilience — once it spreads, the deception is sweet.

But wherever karma lies, there’s always a tradeoff.
We’ve gone from cart drivers to Tiger’s acclaim in golf –
But despite greener pastures, there’s still a train
of untrained thought that mars the landscape.
What about the likes of Granville Woods? — snubbed convincingly
Despite being dubbed the ‘Black Thomas Edison’ of the railroad industry…
This ‘held over the coals’ tendency is a farce full of disregard — planted with hate.

And although we know of George Carver
who donned the moniker of the ‘Black Leonardo da Vinci’ –
Who’s heard of Percy Julian’s remarkable syntheses?
His pursuits sparked a litany of chemistry between plants and medicine.
From such a ‘Forgotten Genius’ who truly
forgot more than most will ever know,
To Lewis Latimer who improved the light bulb to
highlight the bright ideas of Frederick Jones…
Our endeavors are cold! — we’re ever on the go with patents accredited!

We’re so much more than rappers and thespians!
Forget Jay and Ye’s adaption as Redding’s impressionists.
How about samplin’ the tested strength of Otis Boykin’s dampening deeds?
His path of success didn’t follow the least computed resistance.
Neither did Mark Dean or Roy Clay –
both led design teams of IBM’s PC and HP’s computer division…
These are the truest contenders who mustn’t be split
from the nuclear roots of our family tree.

Speaking of nuclear — what I mention may surely get a reaction:
The chair of Clinton’s Nuclear Regulatory Commission was Shirley Jackson –
She was the first woman to serve as an American African –
she literally made the ground move!
Soak it up like Lonnie Johnson — let your radiant minds absorb this.
These are OUR kin, folks — their salience should remind you of YOUR gifts…
Need I say more? — it’s important to sense the enormous extent of who surrounds you!

So you see, what you don’t see is still a great inspiration.
Those whom you don’t know can instill creative instigation.
You may be convinced of your vocation thanks to
the critical expanse of such sojourned watchmen.
So whether you use the everyday tools they’ve improved upon
Or a loved one exists because of their school of thought…
There’s one rule to be taught — ‘the invisible man’s got the whole world watchin’!’