We Were Always Here : Stories of Black Inventors Across the African Diaspora tells the unknown stories of the innovation and ingenuity of Africans who are solving African problems for African people.

The book includes exclusive interviews with Dr Marian Croak, a Vice President of Google as well as Mark E Dean who is the co-inventor of the IBM personal computer. There is a foreword written by world cricket legend Michael Holding who writes: “This book contains stories that are just not taught in the mainstream education.”

One of the most remarkable inventions featured in the book by a South African is by Professor Mashudu Tshifularo. He is the first surgeon in the world to operate and install a 3D-printed middle-ear implant.

He is humble in his achievements. ‘I did not do medicine for the money. I did it to heal people and help improve lives. And it is a privilege. I respect my work and do not take it for granted.’ He has these words of encouragement for learners and aspiring innovators: ‘Adapt or die. Innovate or perish. We black people can solve our own problems, find our own solutions. Africans are innovators. We must not give up…’

Other featured inventors include Richard Turere, from Kenya, who invented a way to keep cattle safe from predators at night when he was only 11 years old. South African, Neo Hutiri invented the Pelebox, which is a smart locker medication collection system.

The Nasa sheroes from the Oscar award winning film, Hidden Figures are included: Dorothy Vaughn, Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson. Other contributors to the space age are George Carruthers, the inventor of the camera that landed on the moon in 1972, Patricia S. Cowings, inventor of a space sickness solution and Emmett Chappelle, a NASA scientist who discovered a way to detect life on other planets using a substance derived from firefly abdomens.

The book covers inventors from as far afield as the Caribbean, America, Tanzania, Ghana, Lesotho and South Africa.

‘We Were Always Here will inspire young Africans to dream big and think out of the box. The stories are inspirational. They celebrate the success of inventors and entrepreneurs across the African diaspora. Young readers will identify with their brown skins and their shared childhood experiences. We want a nation that thinks out of the box, because in the future that is what will be needed. This is an important book which will impact positively on the goals and the dreams of all who read it.’ − Paulos Ngcobo, Chairperson Beier Group

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Dr Candice Bailey is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand under the SA UK Bilateral Chair for Political Theory, looking at issues of democracy, citizenship and participation. She is also a journalist and editor with 22 years of experience. She currently works as the strategic initiative’s editor of The Conversation Africa. She is also on the board of Health-E News.

Lerato Makate is an experienced broadcast content producer and media trainer. She spent 12 years working in commercial, public and community radio. The central objective of her work is to use the radio medium and digital space to tackle social issues using the power of storytelling.

Sizwe Malinga graduated with a BCom degree from the University of Cape Town, majoring in Economics and Finance, in 2021. He was part of the UCT Futures Think Tank and contributed to the book A School Where I Belong.

Les Owen lectured on the MBA programme at the University of Durban Westville for 30 years.

Therese Owen is an entertainment journalist and author. She was the national music writer for Independent Media Group from 2004 to 2014. She was also a regular columnist for the Sunday Independent, Saturday Star, Sunday Tribune, The Star and Daily News Tonight for 20 years.