Dr. Olivia Juliette Hooker is one of the last known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riots. Born in 1915 in Muskogee, Oklahoma, at the age of six, she lived through the Ku Klux Klan destroying her family’s home along with the 35-block “Black Wall … Read MoreOlivia J. Hooker (1915-2018)
Flemmie Kittrell was born on December 25, 1904 to James and Alice Kittrell in Henderson, North Carolina. Kittrell attended Hampton Institution in Virginia (which has since changed to Hampton University) and received her bachelors of science in 1928. Kittrell’s undergraduate degree was in home economics and after encouragement from her professors, Kittrell enrolled … Read MoreFlemmie Pansy Kittrell (1904-1980)
Maceo Crenshaw Dailey, Jr., historian, professor, publisher, and academic administrator, was born July 4, 1943 in Norfolk, Virginia to Marguerite L. Britton, a Manheimer Pharmacy clerk, and Maceo C. Dailey, Sr., a Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard steel worker. Dailey was the oldest of eight children. At six, his family moved … Read MoreMaceo Crenshaw Dailey, Jr. (1943-2015)
Muriel E. Poston is an accomplished botanist and dedicated educator working to increase underrepresented populations in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Her extensive science career crosses many universities and institutions, including Howard University, and the National Science Foundation. Her expertise in botany lies in the flora of Central and South America, specifically Panama, Nicaragua, and Ecuador with … Read MoreMuriel E. Poston (1950- )
In 1935, Dr. Jesse Jarue Mark, Jr. was one of the first African Americans to earn a Ph.D. in botany in the United States. His work focused on the science of crop resilience and productivity, with a focus on how temperature and climate affect alfalfa production. … Read MoreJesse Jarue Mark, Jr. (1905-1971)
In 1982, Dr. Marsha Rhea Williams became the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Computer Science. A successful educator and researcher in academia, Williams has also held positions in private industry and the public sector. Her scholarship examines a variety of topics, ranging from the … Read MoreMarsha Rhea Williams (1948- )
The work of James Edward Maceo West transformed the way people around the world hear and transmit sound. In 1962, West, then a research scientist at Bell Laboratories, developed the foil electret microphone in partnership with his colleague Dr. Gerhard M. Sessler. Until that time, most microphones, which transform … Read MoreJames Edward Maceo West (1931- )
Dr. Marion Antoinette Richards Myles, a scientist with expertise in plant physiology, including the effects of drugs and hormones on plant growth, played a significant role in integrating higher education in the American south. In 1965, she became the first African American faculty member of the University of Mississippi Medical School, with an … Read MoreMarion Antoinette Richards Myles (1917-1969)
Dr. Robert Doyle Bullard, is known as the “father of environmental justice.” Over three decades he has been a prominent activist and scholar in the field of environmental justice, which encompasses land use, transportation equity, suburban sprawl, housing, minority health, regional equity, emergency response, and community preparedness. … Read MoreRobert Doyle Bullard (1946- )
The first African American to chair a department of the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Harold Amos was an esteemed teacher, researcher, and mentor at the institution for more than four decades. Amos dedicated much of his career to supporting the advancement of historically underrepresented individuals and communities … Read MoreHarold Amos (1918-2003)
