Community leaders in Kalamazoo, Michigan are inspiring young people and providing a safe area to play with a new park that features art installations of black inventors.

With the help of a $20,000 neighborhood enhancement grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, the historic new park opened in early October in the Northside neighborhood reports MLive.

"The whole purpose is to inspire kids to go into STEM careers, but how are you going to inspire them if they don't see things?" said NACD Executive Director Mattie Jordan-Woods. "It's to highlight the contributions of African Americans, but in general we don't have things in our communities anymore that inspires kids."

Inventors Henry Blair, Garrett Morgan, Augustus Jackson and Lonnie Johnson and four mixed-media displays, built by Kalamazoo artist James Palmore, are featured in the new park.

The inventor Henry Blair is featured because he was the second African American inventor to receive a patent. His revolutionary seed-planter allowed farmers to efficiently plant more corn using less labor. Morgan, of course, invented the first proto-gas mask and the traffic signal.

Photo: Malachi Barrett

Augustus Jackson, who was a White House cook in the 1820s, has been called the "Father of Ice Cream" for creating new recipes and changing the way the frozen treat has been made.

Photo: Malachi Barrett

And Lonnie Johnson, who is the only living inventor of those featured in the park, is responsible for cooler summers. His "Super Soaker" water gun, and "Nerf" toy gun are staples of family gatherings and childhoods.

Photo: Malachi Barrett

"(We're trying to show kids) STEM is actually the ice cream you eat – that's scientific, but it's a different way of looking at it," Jordan-Woods said.

Another $5,000 in grants were donated by Chemical Bank and Mercantile Bank to help with construction and gardens around the park. Children from the area will also work with local organization Youth Opportunities Unlimited to plant flower boxes to help beautify their new park.

The park is just one aspect of the revitalization of the community. There are plans to create a "Northside Cultural Business District," that will feature vibrant businesses and similar historic displays.

Henry Blair

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