One man invented an alphabet to prove his language wasn't 'primitive'

In 1949, Guinean scholar Solomana Kanté designed the N'Ko script for Manding languages after reading a claim that African languages couldn't be properly written down. N'Ko spread through grassroots literacy campaigns with no government backing, and it's still used across West Africa today.

— Solomana Kanté, N'Ko script — Invented 1949, Guinea