S.T.E.A.M. Celebrates Black History
From the invention of the first 3D TV to the first moon-based observatory, African American mathematicians, scientists, and inventors have contributed to our nation’s greatness since the time of President George Washington. In honor of Black History Month, we’re highlighting the contributions of African Americans who have changed our world. Below I have highlighted one person for each area: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. Click on the player to hear about that person. You can also find links to other geniuses in these fields. (updated 2/05/23)
SCIENCE
James West (1931-)
This STEAMER is an African American scientist, inventor, and acoustician. He holds over 250 foreign and U.S. patents for the production and design of microphones and techniques for creating polymer foil electrets. Read more... |
African-American Scientists - Websites
TECHNOLOGY
Kimberly Bryant (1967-)
This STEAMER is an African American electrical engineer who worked in the biotechnology field at Genentech, Novartis Vaccines, Diagnostics, and Merck. In 2011, Bryant founded Black Girls Code, a training course that teaches basic programming concepts to black girls who are underrepresented in technology careers. Read more... |
African-Americans in the Technology Field - Websites
ENGINEERING
Gerald "Jerry" Lawson (1940-2011)
This STEAMER pioneered home video gaming in the 1970s by helping create the Farichild Channel F, the first home video game system with interchangeable games. A New York native, Lawson is one of the few African-American engineers who worked in computing at the dawn of the video game era. Read more... |
African-American Engineers - Websites
ARTS
Includes liberal arts, fine arts, music, design-thinking, and language arts
Faith Ringgold (1930-)
This STEAMER is a painter, writer, mixed media sculptor and performance artist. Ringgold's artistic practice is extremely broad and diverse, and includes media from painting to quilts, from sculptures and performance art to children's books. Read more... |
African-American Arts - Websites
MATHEMATICS
Katherine G. Johnson (1918-2020)
This STEAMER is an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first and subsequent U.S. crewed spaceflights. Read more... |
African-American Mathematicians - Websites