In addition to the Edison Awards, this year the Awards Committee created the inaugural program, Lewis Latimer Fellowship. Channeling the spirit of Thomas Edison’s principal collaborator Lewis Latimer. Lewis Howard Latimer (1848–1928) was an African-American patent draftsman and inventor who worked with Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison in the post-Civil War era. His name will be forever associated with two of the most revolutionary inventions of all time: the telephone and the incandescent electric light bulb. The Latimer Fellowship Program is a new platform designed to Celebrate, Connect and Commune a community of innovative Black thought leaders. “It has become urgent that we create a new collective of modern day Black superheroes / role models that inject optimism into our culture,”says Jon Cropper, Co-founder of the Lewis Latimer Foundation. “We reviewed over 100 applicants over the past year, and found this “Friendship 6” group that we felt best reflected Latimer’s vision and persona. Our dream is to “manufacture” a community of future Latimers that embrace a core philosophy of “driving innovation with profit with purpose.”The Lewis Latimer Fellows include:

• Dario Calmese, photographer known for being the first African American to photograph the cover of Vanity Fair
• Ayanna Holloway Arce, Associate Professor of Physics at Duke University
• Rayvon Fouche, Division Director, Social and Economic Sciences – National Science Foundation and Professor of American Studies, School of Interdisciplinary Studies -Purdue University
• Audrey Bowden, Associate Professor of Biomedical and Electrical Engineering-Vanderbilt University
• Asegun Henry, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT
• Byron Jones, Cornerback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL)

Learn more at: https://edisonawards.com/latimer-fellowship.php

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