Youth Innovation Night features Black innovators

The Lee County Black History Society, in partnership with the Edison Awards and The Lewis Latimer Fellowship Program, offered “Youth Innovation Night: Unleash Your Super Powers” on April 16 at the Williams Academy Black History Museum in Fort Myers.

The event featured a panel of Latimer Fellows from the Lewis Latimer Fellowship Program, a national program dedicated to providing access and mentorship to a select group of exceptional Black innovators to honor and foster innovations and inventions through the Edison Awards.

In addition, nearly 300 participants engaged with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) activities and information including robotics, Florida Gulf Coast Symphony, Dunbar High School’s International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, area libraries and more. The Society’s Williams Academy Black History Museum was available for tours.

“What an amazing evening designed to showcase the endless possibilities for area youth through the inspirational stories of the Black and Brown Latimer Fellows,” said Executive Director of the Lee County Black History Society Autumn Watkins Holloway. “We hope the community feels the ripples of this creative, inspirational event for years to come.”

The Lewis Latimer Fellowship Program honors one of Thomas Edison’s principal collaborators, Lewis Latimer, who helped Edison refine his vision of the lightbulb. The program pairs modern-day Latimers with modern-day Edisons to guide their entrepreneurial and innovation journeys.