Notable Figures: James West, Charles Turner, Nina Simone, Bryan Stevenson, Carter G. Woodson, Angela Davis, Katherine Johnson, and Madam C.J. Walker.
Hello, CityHawks! February marks Black History Month, and during this time, we are paying tribute to both historical and contemporary Black trailblazers. This week, we delved into the stories of...
“I spend a great deal of the hours that I’m awake within myself. You never want to stop doing it, especially when it’s a pleasure. It’s vital to my existence and I couldn’t live if I wasn’t an inventor.” -James West
James West is an inventor, scientist, acoustician, and professor originally from Virginia. He is credited with co-inventing the foil electret microphone in 1962, which 90 percent of all microphones are based on today. While at university, West was drafted in the Korean War and became a Purple Heart recipient. After his military service, he attended Temple University for physics, but did not finish his master’s as he dropped out to continue his work at Bell Laboratories. James West currently has over 250 foreign and U.S. patents for microphone designs and such.
Cincinnati native, Charles Henry Turner, was an American Behavioral Scientist, teacher, and civil rights advocate. Turner received his B.A. and M.A. in biology and a PH. D. in zoology. His research of vertebrates and invertebrates led him to his most profound and influential discovery: insects cannot only hear, but also alter their behavior, based on previous experience. Charles Turner published over 70 papers during his lifetime. In 1910, he became an elected member of Academy of Sciences of St. Louis, a non-profit dedicated to science education and literacy.
“I am just one of the people who is sick of the social order, sick of the establishment, sick to my soul of it all. To me, America’s society is nothing but a cancer, and it must be exposed before it can be cured. I am not the doctor to cure it. All I can do is expose the sickness.” -Nina Simone
Nina Simone was a singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, and civil rights activist. Originally from North Carolina, she made her way up to New York and New Jersey where her jazz career took off. Much of her music addresses racial inequality; “Mississippi Goddamn” was Simone’s way of bringing attention to the murder of Medgar Evans, a fellow civil rights activist. She would often perform or speak at civil rights meetings and events. Simone left the U.S. in the 70s to make a name for herself in European music scene. Nina Simone was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
Harvard alumnus, Bryan Stevenson, is a lawyer, law professor, social justice activist, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, and Rosa Park’s grandson. Stevenson’s work has led to many changes in the justice system.
“The oppressor has always indoctrinated the weak with his interpretation of the crimes of the strong.” -Carter G. Woodson
Carter G. Woodson was a prominent historian, author, and professor. Woodson founded what we now celebrate as Black History Month, launching Negro History Week the second week of February in 1926. In 1915, Woodson founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Among his accomplishments, Woodson was the second African American to graduate with a PH.D. from Harvard University.
“Jails and prisons are designed to break human beings, to convert the population into specimens in a zoo - obedient to our keepers, but dangerous to each other.” -Angela Davis
Angela Davis is an author, scholar, feminist, and civil and political activist. She was associated with the Black Panthers and the Communist Party, as well as a founding member of the Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism. During the late 60s and early 70s, Davis spoke out against the American prison industrial complex system and called for it to be abolished. In 1970, she was falsely accused of three capital felonies after an armed courtroom takeover, with gun registered to her name. The nation gathered behind Davis and started the “Free Angela” movement began. Davis was acquitted of all charges in 1972.
“We will always have STEM with us. Some things will drop out of the public eye and will go away, but there will always be science, engineering, and technology. And there will always, always be mathematics.” -Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson, mathematician and scientist, was one of the first African American women to work for NASA. Her orbital calculations were used in several spaceflights, including Project Mercury that sent the first American to the moon. During her career, Johnson’s calculations aided the start of the Space Shuttle Program. Moreover, she also worked on a mission to Mars. Johnson was so intellectually gifted, she graduated from college with a degree in mathematics and French at the age of 18.
“The girls and women of our race must not be afraid to take hold of business endeavor and, by patient industry, close economy, determined effort and close application to business, wring success out of a number of business opportunities that lie at their very doors.” -Madam C.J. Walker
Entrpreneur, philanthropist, and political and civil activist, Madam C.J. Walker, was the first female self-made millionaire in the United States and was active in the anti-lynching movement. She made her mark in the business world with a hair and beauty company for black women, Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company. Hiring and educating more black women played a major role in her decision to open training programs to become licensed sale agents. Her philanthropic pursuits included dentations to the NAACP and YMCA.