Black History Month: Pioneering Explorer

Estevan Dorantes

Mr. Dorantes is the first known African man to serve as a tour guide in what is now the United States of America. Mr. Dorantes was born in the African country of Morocco, and, according to the Africana encyclopedia, he was also known as Estevanico, Esteban, Estevanico the Moor, Black Stephen, and Esteban de Dorantes. In the late 1520s, Mr. Dorantes guided a group of Spaniards across the southern and western parts of the country, well before the lands that he and the others crossed were part of the United States.
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Source:
Obregón, L. (2005). Estebanico. In Appiah, K.A. and Gates, H.L., (Eds).  Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, 2nd. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 555.

Black History Month

Hidden Figures: African-American Explorers and Innovators

The recent movie “Hidden Figures,” showcases the lives of African-American women employed by NASA whose efforts enabled the United States to enter and excel in the space race. These women, Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden, among others, are by no means the only African-American women who have contributed to the United States space program, however. African-American men and women have contributed significantly in exploring space and other frontiers, like oceans and caves, laying the groundwork for exploration, and innovating to make our world a safer, more enjoyable place. Each day the library will feature one of these men or women so that they are no longer hidden figures. 

We have a display in the Library and Learning Resource Center to celebrate these "hidden figures." Come in and take a look, Here's some pictures to whet your appetite:

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