Not being acknowledged because of SKIN Colour?

One small step for mankind one giant leap for Human kind- Neil Armstrong

These were the famous words said by Neil Armstrong when he first walked on the moon. Or was he the first person to walk on the moon? There are many conspiracy theories surrounding the claim of Americans sending the first people to the moon, even though Mythbusters proved that they were. That is another debate on its own. Do you not wonder why society remembers Neil Armstrong more than Yuri Gagarin ( first person in Space), does media select who to acknowledge more, does government cover up true stories to not alter history?. These are some of the questions that drove me to write about certain individuals being not acknowledged by the government or the World for things they accomplished. In this case apparently being the first people to do it or participate in it

The 3 people I would like to highlight in this regard is our own South African surgeon “ Hamilton Naki” , Nigerian super computer inventor “Philip Emeagwali” and guitar inventor “ Robert F Flemming” . These people happen to be African with Flemming being African American. This leads to my next question that if they are not being acknowledged, is it because of skin colour.

The case of Hamilton Naki has caused a lot of stir in the South  African medical industry in the past, about Naki actually being the first person to participate in the first open heart surgery. Extreme supporters claimed he performed the surgery himself. Now I am not saying he did or did not, but it is one of those issues that do raise red flags to know who is lying and who is telling the truth. People, who worked with Chris Bernard and were close to him, rise to claim that Naki was nowhere close to the surgery room at the time, and would not be allowed to perform such under the apartheid laws.

Others claim that the Apartheid government at the time would cover this up, and would never acknowledge Naki for the duties. So the question that beckons is who is lying. Upon doing some research, Naki did not have a medical degree at all, but was a very skilled with his hands which made him an assistant to a surgeon at the time after many years. There are some articles that claim Bernard himself said Naki was a better surgeon than him. So again who is right, who is telling the truth.  I find myself asking, would Naki have been able to even perform the surgery without a degree. I also wrestle in my mind would Naki just wake up one day and lie about the surgery, was he paid by the media or government to lie to the world or to otherwise to face the consequences.  When Naki died several newspapers including The Economist published an obituary of Naki, stating he performed the surgery and they later retracted the article based on several reasons. Is there a conspiracy there or not?.  Bernard is quoted as saying he Naki was great in the theatre on liver transplants, while others claim Naki only operated on animals and was not allowed in Groote Schuur, with so many stories, this opens up a lot of debate.

This is not just in South Africa. When you google the Fathers of the internet, a lot of people come up, but you will not see the name Philip Emeagwali among the names in the list. Philip Emeagwali was a Nigerean scientist who claimed being the Father of the internet. In some articles he is acclaimed as the unkown father of the internet. Upon doing research, there are more facts supporting that he was NOT one of the fathers of the internet, even Nigerian scientist’s claiming he was a fraud. This topic does emotionally play with black people, as some critics say that black people want to hold onto the fact that there is a black hero, and cannot accept the truth. Apparently Emeagwali lied about everything from the Nobel price of computing to his education. This story has more flaws than Naki’s one. My only question is then why would Philip Emeagwali lie about all of this, why would he go through all that trouble, if he knew he’d be caught one day.  I am fully aware people do lie to get to fame. Being a university student who has been encouraged to think for myself and think out the box, on this case, there are more facts supporting that He was NOT the father of the internet, but to play devil’s advocate, this could be one big cover up, so that history is not changed, and that a black person is not acknowledged as being the father of the internet.  Several reputable sources do claim him as the father of the internet while others deny, so again who is lying?

Robert F Flemming is the man, (according to many sources) that is credited with inventing the guitar. So it becomes worrying when you read on to these articles, where some are claiming that he did not, that he only had the patent to the guitar, hence why he is credited with it. Does is really bother people that much, that Flemming was not smart enough to invent the guitar. Is it based on his skin colour? Many questions do start to surface when such accusations do happen, or am I wrong, just another man claiming to invent something that he did not.

To end, I am not claiming that these particular people did actually invent something or be one of the first people to do something. It does though get one wondering when it’s happened more than once, that if these particular people are not being acknowledged because of skin colour?