The Rickenbacker Woods Foundation and Learning Center has announced Granville T. Woods Day, a vibrant, family-friendly STEAM celebration taking place on Wednesday, April 23, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at 1330 E. Livingston Avenue in the historic Driving Park neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio.

This hands-on community event offers students and families a unique opportunity to celebrate the life and legacy of one of America’s greatest hidden figures—Granville T. Woods, an African American inventor whose innovations revolutionized how the world moved, connected, and communicated.

Known as the Black Father of Electricity, Woods was a self-taught engineer who held over 60 patents in transportation, communication, and electrical engineering. His devices laid the foundation for safer rail travel, telephone improvements, and early technologies that shaped the modern industrial world. He even went head-to-head with Thomas Edison—defending his own patents and often winning.

Yet, despite his genius and lasting impact, Granville T. Woods has been largely left out of history books. His early life, in particular, has remained a mystery—until now.

Granville T. Woods Day was first officially proclaimed in Franklin County on April 23, 2008, by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners, to commemorate his unmatched contributions to science and innovation. This year’s celebration does more than honor the past—it signals the beginning of a transformative journey to reclaim, restore, and retell Woods’ full story.

Support the New Americans magazine to continue to serve our community with precise news that affect the new American, immigrant and refugee community. https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=8LHFS78NRNJJY&source=url