Taofeek Kunle Owonikoko, a physician-scientist, was born in 1968 in Iseyin, Oyo, Nigeria. He attended elementary and high school in Oyo where his academic discipline was directed by his father, a Yoruba businessman, to be either a physician or an Islamic cleric. Owonikoko is the … Read MoreTaofeek Kunle Owonikoko (1968 -)
Erich David Jarvis, a noted scientist and a professional dancer, was born on May 6, 1965, in Harlem, New York, to musicians James Reginald Jarvis and Sasha Valerie McCall. They parented four children. A product of public education and exceptional in math and science, Jarvis … Read MoreErich David Jarvis (1965 -)
What happened Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is an African American viral immunologist on the front lines of the global research for a COVID-19 vaccine. Unlike the common flu, COVID-19 has a significantly higher death rate which has caused a pandemic that has killed millions around the … Read MoreKizzmekia Corbett (1986- ) [Children’s Edition]
Valerie LaVerne Thomas, scientist, mathematician, physicist, and inventor, was born on February 1, 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland. Reared in the historic all-Black Cherry Hill community, Valerie’s parents were her first role models. They instilled in her the importance of education that resulted “in an inquiry-based … Read MoreValerie Thomas (1943- )
Lynika Strozier was a researcher, scientist and instructor. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama on August 28, 1984. At six months old, her mother brought her to Chicago, Illinois, and at six years old, Strozier went to live with her grandmother, Sharon Wright. By the … Read MoreLynika Sharlice Strozier (1984-2020)
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is an American viral immunologist currently involved in first-stage clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine. Corbett was born on January 26, 1986, in Hurdle Mills, North Carolina to Rhonda Brooks. She attended A.L. Stanback Middle School and Hillsborough High School. During high … Read MoreKizzmekia Shanta Corbett (1986- )
Wade Kornegay is largely regarded as a scientific expert in missile defense during the Cold War. Through his knowledge of physics, he aided in developing a system that could track ballistic missiles that simultaneously differentiated them based on their level of threat to the United … Read MoreWade Kornegay (1934- )
Through her work in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Evelyn J. Fields has broken barriers for women, African Americans, and African American women. Born January 29, 1949 in Norfolk, Virginia, Fields attended Booker T. Washington High School and then graduated from Norfolk State College in 1971 … Read MoreEvelyn J. Fields (1949- )
Hidden in the midst of a photograph of mostly male, white attendees at the 1971 International Conference on the Biology of Whales was one young African American woman. She was unnamed in the caption despite her presence there amongst experts in marine biology. Candace Jean … Read MoreSheila Minor Huff (1947- )
Bessie Virginia Blount, pioneer physical therapist, inventor, and scientist, was born in Hickory (today Chesapeake), Virginia, on November 24, 1914. In the sixth grade, she had to discontinue her elementary education, although she would later earn a GED after her family moved to New Jersey. She studied nursing at the Community … Read MoreBessie Blount Griffin (1914-2009)
