Black Tech: The New Children’s Book by Theresa Merritt-Watson

Hailing from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Merritt-Watson has long served her community as a part of many state organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, the NAACP, and Truth Teaching Ministries. She is also the proud mother of six adult children. 

Though she is pursuing a doctorate in education at Temple University, Merritt-Watson has spent years tutoring children in the classroom. There, she saw firsthand the problems with their learning, which inspired her to write Black Tech.

Specifically, Merritt-Watson saw how African Americans have had some of the lowest test scores in the United States. This problem can be seen in students’ ACTS test scores in 2023. In that year, the average composite score for all students was reportedly 19.5 out of 36, while Black students scored an average composite of 16 out of 36. For the latter, these results marked the lowest average score for African American students since 2019. 

Knowing how brilliant these students truly are, Merritt-Watson sought to uncover the source of this problem. What she found was that African American children haven’t been taught enough about their people’s achievements in schools. This has contributed to their lack of a sense of belonging and purpose and, thus, their low test scores.

“For me, I think African Americans are the least known people, and the great things that they have done should be known by them as well as others,” said Merritt-Watson. “And I want people to know that we have contributed to the development of this country, and I think it’s time we start learning and invoking some of the things we know and have people not come to the country and think we are the low man on the totem pole.”

Merritt-Watson also realized how disconnected these children have become from their reality due to what they’re being taught in school, particularly the people who helped create the world they live in. “Our kids… other people need to be able to see the success in our community because you could have a perception of someone, but it could be a false perception because no one had ever told you,” she stated.

Due to this lack of education and fulfillment, she claims these children are being deprived of the tools they need to be productive citizens. She even points out that some students finish high school without knowing how to read, do math, or complete an application, yet people still call them graduates.

This problem was enough to make Merritt-Watson wonder why. Is all this being done on purpose? Why are people just learning about these Black inventors? And whose responsibility is it to teach children about them and their achievements? The parents or the teachers?

And that’s where Black Tech comes in.

While it may be for readers of all ages, Merritt-Watson wrote this book for first-to-third-grade children to teach them about Black history as early as possible. She feels that by doing this, she will instill in them a drive to learn more about this history, leading to them attaining a proper education. “I am hoping that everybody, no matter what race, will learn to appreciate the history of all people,” she said.

In the meantime, Black Tech provides a brief but necessary lesson about the inventions of Gladys West, Jesse Russell, and Morristown’s own Alice Parker, just to name a few. While there are innovators to choose from, Merritt-Watson highlighted these figures as their creations are still used by people worldwide, including children, displaying the impact Black inventors have had on the planet.

All in all, Black Tech has proven itself an essential read, presenting readers of all ages and races with some vital facts about African Americans’ role in shaping world history. Merritt-Watson also hopes that, if any organization purchases her book, she will be able to put some residuals toward training adults to provide the education children need. 

“There’s some training that needs to be done in this whole process,” she explained. “Whether there is parent training, whether there is developmental training, there’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done to change and modify what we are doing and what we have done.”