January 31, 2020
Lucean Arthur Headen (1879-1957) was an inventor and entrepreneur who helped give African Americans access to new modes of transportation at the start of the 20th century. Having grown up among former enslaved artisans in North Carolina, Headen went on to become a Pullman porter and, later, tour the United States as one of the few African American aviators of the time. Later, he opened an auto shop where he patented new engine designs and manufactured his own cars in the early 1920s. He would race those cars in the first national black auto racing association, which he helped found in 1924. After the end of key relationships, including his marriage, Headen emigrated to England where he invented new methods for deicing planes. While few records were left detailing Headen's life, historian Snider has done an admirable job piecing together the scant interviews and news sources on his life and supplementing them with a reflection of African American life at the time. VERDICT Headen is one of those inventors almost lost to history; this engaging book helps introduce a new generation of scholars to his life and contributions.--John Rodzvilla, Emerson Coll., Boston
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