This Genius Inventor Built a Steam Engine-Then Built His Way to Freedom

two ships on a water battling
Via theblackwallsttimes
Tremain Prioleau II
January 8, 2025

Benjamin Boardley was born a genius. Unfortunately, he was also born enslaved. When Boardley built a makeshift steam engine all by himself, his enslaver, John T. Hammond, was impressed enough to offer the adolescent a rare opportunity.

Hammond got Boardley a job setting up experiments for the faculty at the Naval Academy. The enslaver kept all the money Boardley earned except for $5 a month.

Boardley sold his first small steam engine, powerful enough to run a small boat, to a midshipman. His next steam engine was bigger. And he wasn’t done yet.

Boardley designed an engine capable of powering a small warship. But sadly, enslaved inventors could not obtain patents. So, he found a workaround: He sold his rights to the patent and combined the money from the sale with his savings to buy his freedom for $1,000.

To achieve Black liberation, we must be willing to do anything. Sometimes, this may mean giving up something we’ve worked hard for in the promise of a greater reward. For Boardley, this reward was his freedom. How can we make the best use of our own gifts and talents to achieve Black liberation?

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