The Little-Known Story Of Mary Kenner, The First Black American Woman To Earn Five Patents
The second limitation is commercialization.
The recovery of overlooked histories is itself subject to market forces.
A publisher who could commission a book about Mary Kenner has to calculate whether the book will sell.
A documentary filmmaker has to secure funding.
A museum has to decide whether an exhibit on overlooked inventors will attract the audience needed to justify the investment.
These calculations are not neutral; they reflect the same structures of market power that shaped the original obscurity.
The third limitation is sustainability.