No. 49: Bessie Blount

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“Forget me…It’s what we as a race have contributed to humanity — that as a black female we can do more than nurse their babies and clean their toilets.” These are the words of Bessie Blount—a woman whose inventions not only revolutionized rehabilitative care but also helped pave the way for assistive technology as we know it today.

Hi, I’m Shae, a PhD candidate at Harvard, and welcome to 100 Historic Black Women You Should Know By Election Day, a podcast dedicated to ensuring Black women are no longer treated like footnotes throughout history. Today, we’re diving into the remarkable life and innovations of Bessie Blount, a pioneering nurse, physical therapist, and inventor who made history in ways most people have never even heard of.

Born in 1914, Blount was a trailblazer in healthcare at a time when both racial and gender discrimination were rampant. During World War II, while working as a nurse and physical therapist, she noticed that many of her patients—wounded soldiers who had lost limbs—struggled with basic tasks like feeding themselves. Instead of accepting this as a limitation, she invented an electric feeding device that allowed these veterans to feed themselves with minimal assistance. Her invention was groundbreaking, yet when she tried to sell her device to the Veterans Administration, the chief medical director called it “impractical.” Undeterred, she donated her invention to the French government, where it was adopted for use in military hospitals.

Blount’s contributions didn’t stop there. She went on to become a forensic scientist for Police Departments in New Jersey and Virginia. Her skills were so respected that she later trained at Scotland Yard in England, where she became the first black woman to train there.

Here’s something remarkable: Bessie Blount also had a second career as a handwriting expert! She analyzed the handwriting of historical documents to determine their authenticity and help further the study the writings of enslaved people. At 80 years old she also served as an expert witness on court cases using her handwriting analysis to serve the public.

If you enjoyed learning about the amazing Bessie Blount and want to hear more stories like hers, be sure to rate this podcast 5 stars so more people can discover these incredible women. Don’t forget to follow me on social media @shaethehistorian and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more fascinating history that celebrates Black women's brilliance throughout time.

Thanks for listening, and remember—these stories deserve to be heard!