Black History Month: First in (Space) Flight for an African American Woman

Dr. Mae Jemison

Dr. Mae Jemison, a physician and a NASA astronaut, graduated from high school and enrolled in college when she was sixteen-years-old. With undergraduate degrees in chemical engineering and African American Studies, and a medical degree from Cornell University, Dr. Jemison began her professional career doing non-profit medical work. She served in a refugee camp in Asia and as a medical officer in the countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia (Asante, 172). In 1992, she completed her astronaut training with NASA.  Then, in the same year, Dr. Jemison became the first African American woman to go into space on the Spacelab-J mission (Asante, 173).

For more information about Dr. Jemison, including her Twitter account, see the links and references included here :

Dr. Mae Jemison’s Twitter handle: @maejemison

The Jemison Foundation: http://www.jemisonfoundation.org/home.htm

Biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/mae-c-jemison-9542378

NASA: https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/jemison-mc.html

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Sources:

Asante, M.K. (2002). 100 Greatest African Americans: A Biographical Encyclopedia. New York: Prometheus Books. pp.172-173.

Marshall, M. (1989, August). Child of the 60s Set to Become First Black Woman in Space. Ebony. 44(10). pp. 50-55.