AFRICAN-AMERICAN INGENUITY IMPRESSES OMANIS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000675

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR ECA/PE/C/CU, NEA/ARPI, NEA/PPD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO SCUL MU
SUBJECT: AFRICAN-AMERICAN INGENUITY IMPRESSES OMANIS


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SUMMARY
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1. Embassy Muscat brought a New York-based historical
exhibition entitled "Black Inventions: Made in the USA," to
Oman for its international debut, first in Salalah and then
in Muscat. The collection of original artifacts and
replicas of items invented by African-Americans reminded
audiences of the ethnic and racial diversity of the United
States and tangibly demonstrated the unique contributions
that African-Americans have made to the scientific,
economic, and cultural development of the U.S. Media
coverage of the exhibition was abundant and very positive,
with four of the six principal Omani newspapers publishing
articles on the exhibition. End summary.

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A TRIBUTE TO AFRICAN-AMERICANS
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2. Following two years of intensive effort, the Embassy, in
collaboration with the Department and the Omani Society for
Fine Arts (OSFA),organized two viewings of the New York-
based exhibition "Black Inventions: USA" in Salalah and
Muscat from March 26-30 and April 2-6, respectively. This
was the first time the exhibition had ever been shown
outside of the U.S. It contained original artifacts and
detailed replicas of items invented by African-Americans
mostly from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well
as documentary films on the lives of selected inventors.
James Ince and Steve Guine, curators of the exhibit,
explained to groups of high school and college students
visiting the exhibition the historical, social and cultural
contexts in which the inventors worked.

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MAKING WORK EASIER
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3. The exhibition, which consists of over 100 items
designed and created by African-American men and women,
included the traffic light invented by Peter Walker in 1925;
the lawn sprinkler invented by J.H. Smith in 1897; the horse
shoe invented by Oscar Brown in 1892; the pencil sharpener
invented by J.L. Love in 1897; and the ironing board
invented by Sarah Boone in 1882. The curators of the
exhibition described how many inventions grew out of
attempts to ease the toil of labor and in other cases to
fuel the hopes of freedom from slavery and the dream of
escape from poverty. Omanis also learned that most
inventors received little benefit from their inventions.
Many failed to patent them; others sold their ideas for
small amounts convinced that whites would never purchase an
item invented by an African-American.

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MORE THAN ENTERTAINERS
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4. One high school student commented after viewing the
exhibition, "Before today, I only thought of Black Americans
as good singers, dancers, and athletes. Now, I understand
that they their skills and accomplishments are as important
and varied as those of any other group." Another student
lamented, "It is sad that many black Americans had to sell
their inventions for almost nothing because white people
would not acknowledge that items invented by black people
could be of value."

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EDUCATING YOUTH
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5. Exhibition Curator James Ince remarked "Our aim is not
only to give credit to the inventors, but also to inspire
students to create, to let young people know that they can
do anything they put their minds to." Omani educators
responded to this by organizing student field trips to both
the Salalah and Muscat viewings of the exhibition to observe
the artifacts and listen to the curators' presentations on
African-American history. Students from Rustaq Teachers
College, Dhofar University, Sultan Qaboos University, the
American International School, Muscat Private School, and
Azzan Bin Qais School visited the exhibition. Many of the
students were enrolled in U.S.-related courses and saw the
exhibition as an opportunity to enhance their understanding
of their coursework.

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MEDIA COVERAGE
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6. Press coverage of the exhibition was ample and very
positive including extensive quotations from the
Ambassador's opening remarks at both the Salalah and Muscat
openings. The English daily "Times of Oman" (circulation
25,000) published article on the exhibition on March 26
entitled, "Exhibition of African Items," and on April 7 the
same newspaper ran a story, with a photograph of the
Ambassador, entitled "Black Inventions Exhibition a Dream
Come True For U.S. Envoy." The English daily Oman Tribune
(circulation 20,000) of March 26 carried an article with the
title, "Exhibition to Shed Light on African-Americans'
inventions." On April 19, the English daily Oman Daily
Observer (Circulation 20,000) printed a full-page article on
the exhibition, which included photographs from its opening
in Muscat, under the title "Bright and Black." Arabic daily
"Oman" (circulation 38,000) published a photograph of the
exhibition opening in Salalah.
BALTIMORE