Did You Know? Celebrating Innovators, Athletes, Scientists, and more!

Today's blog post was written in conjunction with DE's Black Affinity Group leaders. A special thanks to the students for putting together the content and for also organizing last month's Library Kahoot! 

While March is Women's History Month and we are focused on celebrating the achievements of women, we wanted to reflect back on the notable figures we learned about during African American History Month. 

Patricia Bath

Patricia Bath was an African American woman born and raised in Harlem New York. From a child, she had a fond love for science. Bath worked hard on her intellectual pursuits and, at the age of 16, became one of only a few students to attend a cancer research workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The program head, Dr. Robert Bernard, was so impressed with Bath's discoveries during the project that he incorporated her findings in a scientific paper he presented at a conference. The publicity surrounding her discoveries earned Bath the Mademoiselle magazine's Merit Award in 1960. In 1981, Bath began working on her most well-known invention: the Laserphaco Probe (1986). Harnessing laser technology, the device created a less painful and more precise treatment of cataracts.

Mary Van Brittan Brown

So I'm sure some of y'all are familiar with the security system, Ring. Well, you can thank Mary Van Brittan Brown. She grew up in a community where crime was heavy. This story is quite beautiful because her husband Albert Brown was an electronics technician and Mary Brown was a nurse. Because of the security problem together they worked on a two-way security system. 

Lewis Latimer

                                  

Most of us were taught that the light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison, which in some aspects is true. But what you don't know is that his light bulbs were pointless. Imagine how much money it would cost and how annoying it would be if you had to replace your lightbulbs every day. Well, thanks to Lewis Latimer, who perfected the filament in the light bulb, light bulbs now last months, or even years. So next time someone tells you Thomas Edison created the lightbulb don't be shy to tell them yes that's true but Lewis Latimer was working right alongside him and he was the one to change the game.

1968 

“BLACK POWER SALUTE” 

Below is a super short video about the iconic Black Power Salute at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico.

We'll end with a look back at the fastest woman of all time, Florence Griffith Joyner. Here is a video of Flo-Jo, as she was affectionately called, sprinting at the 1988 Olympic games in Seoul. By the way, that record still stands.

If you would like more information (or a list of sources), please contact DE's Black Affinity Group!

If you're part of a DE Student Group and are interested in being a guest contributor, please reach out to Ms. Mamdani.OLYPIC