Throughout February, the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History is hosting a Black History Month banner exhibit highlighting the contributions Black people have made in scientific fields such as medicine, biology and engineering.
The goal of the exhibit is to highlight those who have previously been overlooked due to systemic factors, according to museum curator James Stemm.
“What we've tried to do is recognize that people from all backgrounds are contributing to science and contributing to technology and its development, and highlight some of those people who may not have always been recognized at the time or since then,” Stemm said.
One of the notable Black scientists highlighted was Guion Bluford. Bluford was an aeronautical engineer, United States Air Force pilot and astronaut.
“With his first flight in August 1983, aboard the space shuttle Challenger, he became the first African American to fly in space and the second person of African descent to go into space,” the exhibit noted.
Over the course of his pioneering career, Bluford logged nearly 700 hours of space flight. Additionally, the museum has a slightly more personal connection with Bluford, as docent Everett Heinonen said he and Bluford crossed over in attending the Air Force Institute of Technology.
Also featured was Garrett Augustus Morgan Jr. He was a businessman and inventor who notably patented a smoke hood that would later be adapted into the gas masks used in World War I. The hood, which was originally designed for firefighters, was a series of hoses that allowed the wearer to draw in clean air from near the floor of smoky rooms. The device saved nine people during a tunnel construction in 1916, and it would go on to save many more as a basis for respiratory hazard protection, according to the exhibit.
Morgan was also an advocate and protector of the Black community in his hometown of Cleveland. Morgan promoted and supported the Black community there, and in 1908 he co-founded the Cleveland Association of Colored Men, which later merged with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, according to a banner in the exhibit.
He also donated money to Historically Black Colleges and Universities and founded a country club open to Black members.
Astronaut and physician Mae Jemison was featured as well. She became the first Black woman in space in 1992. After leaving NASA, she founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence.
Under the umbrella of the foundation, Jemison supports science camp The Earth We Share, which aims to engage youth in STEM, and scientific project 100-Year Starship, which is devoted to achieving interstellar travel within the next 100 years. Jemison was also featured as a guest star on an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” according to a banner in the exhibit.
The exhibit will be on display and included in the museum’s cost of admission through the end of February.
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“What I really hope people get from it is that everyone who wants to contribute can find some way to do that, and that it doesn't matter what your background is,” Stemm said. “You go to school, you learn this stuff, you can find a way to contribute and you should be recognized for those contributions.”
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
