Meet Seven Black Inventors Who Shaped American History

Mary Kenner: Inventor Of The Sanitary Belt

Wikimedia CommonsBorn into a family of Black inventors, Mary Kenner developed the sanitary belt, the precursor to the modern menstrual pad.

When it comes to reproductive hygiene, we have Mary Kenner to thank for developing the sanitary belt. But her invention wasn’t introduced to the masses until nearly 30 years after she first came up with it — all because she was a Black woman.

Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner was born on May 17, 1912, in Monroe, North Carolina, to a family of Black inventors. Her maternal grandfather, her father, and even her sister had also created useful inventions of their own.

Kenner’s first invention idea came when she was just six years old, for a self-oiling door hinge. Throughout her childhood, she continued to come up with useful ideas for gadgets that would make life easier.

“Every person is born with a creative mind… Everyone has that ability.”

Her smarts translated to academics, which led her to enroll at the prestigious historically-Black college Howard University. However, she was unable to afford the tuition and later dropped out.

But that setback didn’t stop her unbridled ingenuity. In the 1920s, Kenner came up with her most significant invention yet: the sanitary belt.

Before menstrual pads had an adhesive strip on the back, many women struggled to keep sanitary napkins inside their underwear. So the sanitary belt held these napkins in place — and helped women avoid embarrassing leaks and stains.

Joshua Yospyn for The Washington Post via Getty ImagesKotex sanitary belt packaging, one of several objects displayed in the Museum of Menstruation.

It was an inspired idea that would become the precursor to modern pads. But the excitement over the belt was complicated by the racism against its inventor. At one point, Mary Kenner’s sanitary belt invention attracted a marketing company that was interested in advertising for her. However, things took a turn once they found out she was African American.

“One day I was contacted by a company that expressed an interest in marketing my idea. I was so jubilant,” she revealed. “Sorry to say, when they found out I was Black, their interest dropped. The representative went back to New York and informed me the company was no longer interested.”

But in 1957, Kenner was finally granted a patent for her sanitary belt. By that point, she had updated it with a “moisture-proof napkin pocket,” making it spill-proof.

Despite the challenges she faced due to racism, Mary Kenner continued to create. She filed five patents during her lifetime, the most patents owned by an African-American woman to this day.

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