AABE
Hugh Price, a descendant of Lewis Latimer, is vice chair of the Lewis Latimer House Museum’s board of directors.
Tracey Woods is VP of AABE.
Steve Mitnick is Executive Editor of Public Utilities Fortnightly.
This year, the historic American Association of Blacks in Energy is celebrating its fiftieth birthday. And in February, AABE celebrated Black History Month with a webinar on a founding father of the utilities industry, Lewis Latimer.
AABE vice president Tracey Woods led a discussion. On the panel was Hugh Price, who is a descendant of Latimer, quite remarkably, and vice chair of the Lewis Latimer House Museum's board of directors. On the panel as well was Public Utilities Fortnightly's very own Steve Mitnick, author of the 2020 book, "Lewis Latimer, the First Hidden Figure."
The conversation spanned many topics. From Price's time as president of the National Urban League, to how Mitnick came to start researching Latimer. Latimer's beginnings, to how we remember this great man today. Perhaps some of the best parts of the discussion were when the two Latimer historians shared their favorite Latimer's stories.
Latimer's Beginning
Hugh Price: I think the most amazing thing about him is that his is actually a Horatio Alger story.
Lewis Latimer's father left the family when Lewis was about ten years old. Lewis worked a lot of odd jobs when he was a little kid because his family needed the money. He never got beyond grade school.