In the 1880s, Granville T. Woods emerged as a pioneering Black inventor who challenged Thomas Edison in patent battles over wireless train communication systems. Woods, who gained technical expertise during a stint on a British steamship, filed a patent in 1887 for transmitting telegraphic signals to moving trains through electromagnetic induction.

Operating from his Cincinnati workshop, Woods maintained an enigmatic presence, dressed in black and keeping largely to himself. Some speculated he wasn't American, but the truth was more remarkable—he was a Black inventor in the post-slavery era making claims that would shake American industry. His patent described a working system for wireless communication between moving trains, rendered in precise line drawings and compact handwriting.

Woods's victory over Edison in court battles protected his innovations and established him as a formidable force in American engineering. His work on railway telegraphy systems demonstrated that groundbreaking technological advances could come from unexpected sources, challenging the era's racial and industrial hierarchies.