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28-02-2019 | ARTICLES

M3: Leroy Raadel Posey, an African American Inventor of a Mathematics Teaching Machine

Authors: Patricia A. Young, Evelyn K. Thomas

Published in: Journal of African American Studies | Issue 1-2/2019

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Abstract

Evidence of African American cultural ingenuity can be found throughout history. This article chronicles the extraordinary story of Leroy Raadel Posey, an African American inventor of a mathematics teaching machine—the Combination Slide Board. Through a historical examination of primary source documents, the man behind the machine is revealed as a mathematics educator whose life’s work focused on providing access to the mysteries behind mathematics. The patent details the purpose of the Combination Slide Board as a teaching machine and calculating device. An examination of Posey’s research and publications exposes his innovations in the emerging field of mathematics education. This analysis reveals the journey of the man, machine, and mathematics (M³) and the creation of the Combination Slide Board as a twentieth-century teaching machine.

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Footnotes
1
Petrie, Charles John. “The History of Education in Christian County.” University of Kentucky, 1939,183-189.Attucks high school was named after Christopher Attucks, a black solider of the American Revolution who was one of the first African Americans to be killed.
 
2
Additional support that Posey lived in university housing was a letter he sent to Dean Cade on September 1, 1944. Posey asked Dean Cade to keep an eye on his house and garden for him. (Leroy R. Posey to John B. Cade, Handwritten letter about trip to Rockdale, TX, 1 September 1944. Volume 35, No.1, Leroy Raadel Posey Papers. Southern University Catalog Collection, John B. Cade Library). In addition, Posey’s 1943 contract indicated Southern University, Scotlandsville, LA, as his home address. L.R. Posey employment form, December 6, 1943. Volume 35, No.1, Leroy Raadel Posey Papers. Southern University Catalog Collection, John B. Cade Library.
 
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Metadata
Title
M3: Leroy Raadel Posey, an African American Inventor of a Mathematics Teaching Machine
Authors
Patricia A. Young
Evelyn K. Thomas
Publication date
28-02-2019
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of African American Studies / Issue 1-2/2019
Print ISSN: 1559-1646
Electronic ISSN: 1936-4741
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-019-09421-1

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