Inspiring Black light bulb inventor finally gets headstone and recognition in Fall River

FALL RIVER — It’s been long overdue — 95 years in fact — but Saturday saw the unveiling of a headstone and memorial for 19th century Black inventor Lewis Howard Latimer at Oak Grove Cemetery.

Latimer, born in 1848 in Chelsea to escaped Virginia slaves, was an extraordinary inventor, draftsman, writer and artist, working alongside the likes of Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Alva Edison.

The inventor, known for his work to improve the development of the electric incandescent light bulb and the early invention of air conditioning to name a few of his innovations, was laid to rest after his death in 1928 at Oak Grove Cemetery along with his wife, Mary Latimer, and other family members. But he had no headstone marking his grave until now.

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Latimer married Mary in Fall River. Until now, she was the only family member with a headstone. On the back of the granite memorial are engraved the names of the inventor's other family members who are laid to rest in the family plot. Among them is Sarah Anna Lewis Williams, a Black teacher in Fall River and the first Black woman to graduate from the school that became Bridgewater State University.

“This is the culmination of three years of hard work,” said Jonathan Cropper, co-founder of the Latimer Fellowship, a program created by the Edison Awards to foster and mentor Black innovators.

Among fellowship winners have been modern inventors, CEOs, and even Shameik Moore, actor and musician who provided the voice of Miles Morales in the "Spider-Verse" films.

“When we created the Lewis Latimer Fellowship Program, we felt it was critically important to create and elevate new 'superheroes' that young Black kids can look up to and aspire to be. And when we learned about Latimer was here and without a tombstone, we simply had to right that wrong,” said Cropper.

Lewis Latimer is 'one of those unsung heroes'

The gray and white granite headstone was designed by artist and sculptor Stan Mullins, who created the Martin Luther King memorial in Atlanta.

Latimer, said Cropper, is in his mind as “significant as Edison himself,” although he has not gotten the recognition.

“I’ve never heard of him in the history books. We’ve all heard of [Nikola] Tesla, we’ve all heard of Edison and other important iconic figures, and he is one of those unsung heroes,” said Cropper.

Lewis Latimer Day declared in Fall River

While heavy rains poured down during the 1½-hour program honoring Latimer, it didn’t dampen the enthusiasm to honor the innovator whose worked helped change modern society.

And many in the crowd had not heard about Latimer and the accomplishments by the self-taught Black renaissance man who broke many racial barriers.

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Including Mayor Paul Coogan, who declared Saturday Lewis Latimer Day.

“This is very interesting. The more you read about Mr. Latimer, the more inadequate the rest of us feel,” joked Coogan. “And he’s been here, and no one knew it. But it’s great to honor someone that had those kinds of skills that were so special and so different.”

Latimer's life and the fellowship can inspire Black students

Frank Bonafilia, executive director of the Edison Awards and co-founder of the Lewis Latimer Fellowship Program, said he’d never read about Latimer in books nor learnt about him in school.

It wasn’t until he received a call from Cropper in 2020 after his friend, actor and "Black Panther" actor Chadwick Boseman, died. Cropper asked Bonafilia if he’d heard of Latimer, and he had not.

He said he started researching the inventor's life and work, and Bonafilia was impressed, but dismayed that Latimer's grave did not have a headstone.

“And today, as Jon stated, we are here to right that wrong. But we are also here to celebrate the man. That was Step One of a process that we really believe in, and that’s the Latimer Fellowship,” said Bonafilia. “The fellowship is looking for modern-day Latimers who have the ability to change the world.”

Edison Award winner and the fellowship's third co-founder, Carmichael Roberts, said that as a young Black student entering college, he had also never heard of Latimer or his innovative accomplishments.

“When I heard about him and I thought, ‘Holy smokes,’” said Roberts. “I was floored, and I thought to myself, if it was 30-plus years ago and I had to write my [college] essay again, I would have written that it was Lewis Latimer who I would have aspired to be more than anything.”

“What a shame that an American hero like that was not transparent to the public, where he would have inspired people like me,” said Roberts.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Lewis Latimer, Black inventor who worked with Edison, given memorial