The Giving Trees: The Contributions of Minorities to American Society

The Giving Trees reveals and highlights examples of Native-American, African-American, Hispanic-American, and Asian-American contributions to American society, focusing on science and invention, from the pre-Colombian era to the modern era and the struggles these contributors faced to bring their discoveries to us. Native-American contributions cover the agricultural and medicinal gifts they discovered, their interaction with and aid to the first European explorers and settlers in the Americas, and the contributions of exceptional Native-American individuals, such as Sacagawea. The inventions and discoveries of African Americans – Lewis Latimer, Granville Woods, George Washington Carver, Daniel Hale Williams, and many more – have improved and strengthened our nation. The cultural and historical imprint of Hispanic Americans infuses much of modern day America, and Hispanic Americans stand at the forefront of science and medicine today. The building of the Transcontinental Railroad and the development of the cities of the Pacific Coast relied on the labor of Asian Americans; now, they lead the United States in fields from architecture to computer technology. These contributions are trees that have grown from tiny seeds and give us gifts year after year, long after the planters are gone.