by DR. LEROY VAUGHN, MD, MBA, HISTORIAN is now available on amazon.com.
FOREWORD BY BRAD PYE, JR.
Leroy William Vaughn M.D., M.B.A. is not only one of the world’s renowned ophthalmologists, but also one of the leading authorities on Black history. Basketball is Michael Jordan’s game. Black history and ophthalmology are Dr. Vaughn’s games. Dr. Vaughn’s medical credentials and expertise as a diabetic eye specialist and as a remarkable surgeon make him one of the leading practitioners in his field. His knowledge as an historian is equally as outstanding.
Dr. Vaughn’s patients swear by him for his medical skills. Historians marvel at him because of his talents as a researcher and writer on the subject of Black history. As a lecturer, he’s one of the most in-demand speakers in the nation. Like magic, Dr. Vaughn can rattle off facts on Black history like an orator recites a speech he has practiced on delivering for days. When it comes to reciting the roles Black people have played in world history, Dr. Vaughn has dazzled some of the most learned minds in America
Confirmation of this fact can be found on the pages of this in-depth study on the subject. For instance, did you know that a Black man with only a sixth grade education named Garrett Morgan (1875-1963) invented the first traffic signal, the gas mask, and marketed the G. A. Morgan Refining Cream, which was the first hair straightening product? Did you know that Garrett Morgan made so much money from his hair cream that he was able to purchase an automobile? In fact, traffic congestion while driving his new car was motivation for Morgan’s traffic signal invention.
Did you know that in 1721 an African slave named Onesimus taught his “master” the age-old African technique for smallpox inoculation in which a pustule from an infected person was ruptured with a thorn and then used to puncture the skin of a normal person? Did anyone ever tell you that the original Haitians were called the Arawaks or Tainos before Christopher Columbus and that they were very generous and could swim long distances? Did you know that George Franklin Grant, a Black man, invented the golf tee in 1898 and patented it a year later? Grant, one of the first two African American graduates of the Harvard Dental School
Did anyone ever tell you that Dr. Charles Richard Drew was the discoverer of successful blood plasma storage techniques that made blood banks possible? In 1941, the American Red Cross appointed Dr. Drew as the director of its first blood bank. Did anyone ever tell you that the collective contributions of Black Americans to science is so extensive that it is not possible to live a full day in any part of the United States, or the world for that matter, without sharing in the benefits of their contributions in such fields as: biology, chemistry, physics, space and nuclear science? Well, if you didn’t know these things, then keep on reading, and Dr. Vaughn will tell you about these and hundreds of other facts about Black history.
Other inventions patented by African Americans include the folding lawn chair, the doorstop, the ironing board with collapsible legs, and the bottle cap. In fact, there’s a long list of inventions made by Blacks during an age dominated by Whites. If Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Elgin Baylor had been born in the 18th or 19th century, we would never have known their names because of the concerted effort not to acknowledge the accomplishments of Black people.
Dr. Vaughn didn’t just decide to write a book on Black history. This has been his passion and his life’s mission! Academically, Dr. Vaughn has the knowledge and the talents to make his life’s work a reality on the pages of this book. Dr. Vaughn was rooted and grounded in Black history as a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta , where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1969 after a two-year premedical study tour at the University of Vienna in Austria Morehouse College Morehouse College
Medically speaking, Dr. Vaughn is tops in his field. He received his medical degree from Wayne State University in Detroit Chapel Hill , NC , and completed his ophthalmology fellowship and research training at Harvard University ’s Massachusetts Eye and Ear Hospital
In addition to a brilliant scholar, Dr. Vaughn is also a community leader. For giving his time and his talents to the community, he was honored by the late Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, L.A. County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, the State of California
Dr. Vaughn’s book should not only be required reading for Blacks, but for all people. Most of society still believes what historian Arnold Toynbee wrote in his 1934 history book: “It will be seen that when we classify mankind by color, the only primary race that has not made a creative contribution to any civilization is the Black race.” Dr. Vaughn sets the record straight on this lie and on so many other untruths about Black history.
Vernon E. Jordan better known as a civil rights fighter, businessman, lawyer, and “first friend” of President Bill Clinton vividly illustrates the essence of Dr. Vaughn’s book when he wrote in his book entitled “Vernon Can Read! A Memoir:” “Black people have done wonderful things for this country (saved its soul, in fact), and we have been an example to the world in the process. That should never be forgotten, even as we continue to press ahead, in our many and varied ways, toward our future. If we did so much when we had so little, think of what we can do now that we have so much more.”
Covered in Dr. Vaughn’s book are the Ancient Period, After Christ, After 1492 (Columbus ), After 1776 (Independence
Brad Pye, Jr.
Formerly (for thirty years): Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper’s Sports Editor, Sports Director for KGFJ, KACE, KJLH, and KDAY radio stations.
Currently Brad Pye, Jr. is sports columnist for the following publications: Los Angeles Watts Times, Compton Bulletin, Inglewood Today and Inland News.
