While Black History Month is a time to commemorate what has been accomplished, it is equally important to recognize what needs to be done.
African Americans have made significant contributions in every field, from science and technology to politics, sports, and history.
Some of the incredible black Americans who helped shape our country and our world are listed here.
Debi Thomas
She was born in 1967 in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Throughout her childhood, she dreamed of becoming a doctor.
As an engineering major, she worked toward what has always been her dream: to become an orthopedic surgeon.
She won two national championships at Stanford and a world figure skating title in her first year.
Figure skating titles
Also, as a Stanford pre-med student,
- Thomas won the 1986 U.S. National and World Figure Skating titles,
- Becoming the first and only African American to hold those titles.
- Her achievement earned her a place in the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000
Winter Olympics…
To train for the 1988 Winter Olympics, she postponed school for a year.
Subsequently, in Calgary, she became the first Black athlete to win an Olympic medal skating to the music of Bizet.
As a figure skater and a surgeon, she is active in her community.
Reference:
CNN/Sports Illustrated.
Samuel Milton Nabrit
A Black biologist, educator, and activist were born in Augusta, GA, to Rev. Dr. J.M. Nabrit Sr., and Gertrude West Nabrit.
He was one of eight children who received a college education; his brother James Nabrit became president of Howard University.
Education…
Nabrit attended schools in Macon and received his bachelor’s degree in biology from Morehouse College in 1925.
In 1928, he received a Master’s degree from Brown University, and in 1932 he got a doctorate in biology from Brown University.
Expertise
A few years after becoming dean of Atlanta University’s graduate school of arts and sciences in 1947, he became chairman of its biology department in 1932.
He was a founding member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine and served as president of the National Institute of Science.
The year 1950 was…
Dr. Nabrit was a research fellow at the University of Brussels.
The scientific papers Nabrit published during this period remained influential for decades.
As of 1955…
As Texas Southern University’s second president, he served until 1966.
From 1956 to 1962…
President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Dr. Nabrit to the National Science Board.
In 1966,
President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Dr. Nabrit to the United States Atomic Energy Commission.
He founded the Southern Fellowship Fund to assist African American students pursuing doctoral degrees one year later.
Dr. Nabrit joined Brown University’s Board of Trustees in 1967.
In 1985…
Brown University established the Nabrit Black Graduate Student Association in his honor.
From 1967 to 1981…
Dr. Nabrit was chairman of the Atlanta-based Southern Fellowship Fund, which provided grants of $4 million to minority faculty members.
Lastly, Debi Thomas and Samuel Nabrit left their marks on American history by emphasizing Black history.
Reference:
Wikimedia Foundation
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