THINGS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
10
THINGS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
BY TANYA A. CHRISTIAN
1
SPACE GODDESS
TH E J EMISON G ROU P
In 1992, Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to travel in space, changing the face of astronautics forever. Recently Jemison—now the principal of the 100 Year Starship Project, which promotes space travel—was tapped as an adviser on National Geographic’s docudrama MARS (which debuted November 14) to help create an accurate portrayal of space travel. She spoke with ESSENCE about her role in the series and how she’s encouraging science literacy.
ISSUES
DECEMBER 2016 ESSENCE .COM 75
ISSUES : TRENDING TOPICS ESSENCE: Why did you want to participate in the MARS project? DR. MAE JEMISON: Because we have to do this across ethnicity, gender, geography.... That’s going to get us to Mars. I thought it was important for me to be able to provide some perspective in terms of not only crew operations but also how we talk about things. ESSENCE: When we do reach Mars,
how important will it be for the first group to be diverse?
JEMISON: What I found very interesting about the MARS story is that it had an international crew. Another thing I found interesting about the scripting is who leads, and that there was an equal group of men and women. I started pushing to use the term “human space flight” instead of the phrase “man to space flight.” As a little kid I remember being irritated about that phrase. ESSENCE: What would you say
2
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
Thanks to Britney Robbins, 29, African-American teens in Chicago are receiving the tools to build their own businesses, such as coaching on how to pitch. Through Robbins’s nonprofit, The Gray Matter Experience, five student groups were also awarded $5,000 to fund their ideas.
3
RIGHTING WRONGS
In 1838, Georgetown University sold 272 enslaved Africans for $3.3 million in today’s dollars and used a portion to settle its debts. The school formally apologized in September, renaming two buildings after African-Americans and granting preferential admission status to descendants of the enslaved.
has been your greatest achievement thus far?
ESSENCE: During the opening reception of the new Smithsonian museum, President Obama mentioned you in his statement. What was it like to be a part of the occasion? JEMISON: I was thrilled to be there. I knew that having this representation and this participation as part of the whole Smithsonian was vital. It’s about asserting our role in American history and in world history, and demonstrating how we’ve Jemison, transformed circa 1992 things. 78 ESSENCE .COM DECEMBER 2016
4
SYSTEMIC CHANGE NOW
According to their lawyer, the family of Sandra Bland reached a $1.9 million settlement in Bland’s tragic death. The lawyer also said the jail where she was found hung has been required to make improvements in regard to medical attention for inmates and sensors for detainee checks.
5 LGBTQ INCLUSION
Bishop Tonyia Rawls, founder of The Freedom Center for Social Justice in Charlotte, North Carolina, is passionate about LGBTQ rights. She started the Do No Harm Pledge, a part of a campaign aimed at enlisting faith leaders and others to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ people. Encourage folks to take the pledge at donoharmpledge.org.
Black students are suspended and expelled at three times the rate of their White counterparts, but a school in Baltimore is changing that. Educators at Robert W. Coleman Elementary opened a Mindful Moment Room to help students center themselves. Since implementing the practice in 2014, the school hasn’t had any suspensions.
7 TRENDING UP: HBCU
s
According to research, about one third of HBCUs reported an increase of at least 10 percent freshmen enrollment this year. Let’s hope our institutions continue to attract the best and brightest for years to come.
8 COOL IDEA
At a conference this summer, Amazon engineer Thomas Phillips, 34, proposed turning a Detroit school bus into a mobile tech lab where students learn to code, build Web sites and develop software. Phillips is now seeking funding.
9 A SAFE SPACE After a year of talks, UC Berkeley’s Black Student Union, along with other groups, successfully lobbied for an African-American Center on campus dedicated to the social, academic and political needs of its students. The center will be named in honor of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer.
10
Let’s be very “ clear: Strong
men—men who are truly role models—don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful.
”
—First Lady Michelle Obama, stumping for the Hillary Clinton campaign at Southern New Hampshire University
For the latest news, follow ESSENCE Features Editor Lauren N. Williams on Twitter @LAURNWILLIAMS.
INSE T, COU RTESY OF NASA . 2. CH UCK OLU AL AB I/CH UCKSTR PHOTOS . 4 . KEITH G E T TER /G E T T Y IMAG ES . 5 . MOYE PHOTOG R APHY. 8 . SU PRU N/G E T T Y IMAG ES .
JEMISON: I don’t ever answer that question, but I’ll say that I’ve tried to work very hard over the years to help change the perception of who does science. I really want there to be an understanding that the social and physical sciences and the arts are not separate, that we should push for creativity.
6 A NEW APPROACH
THINGS WE’RE TALKING ABOUT
BY TANYA A. CHRISTIAN
1
SPACE GODDESS
TH E J EMISON G ROU P
In 1992, Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African-American woman to travel in space, changing the face of astronautics forever. Recently Jemison—now the principal of the 100 Year Starship Project, which promotes space travel—was tapped as an adviser on National Geographic’s docudrama MARS (which debuted November 14) to help create an accurate portrayal of space travel. She spoke with ESSENCE about her role in the series and how she’s encouraging science literacy.
ISSUES
DECEMBER 2016 ESSENCE .COM 75
ISSUES : TRENDING TOPICS ESSENCE: Why did you want to participate in the MARS project? DR. MAE JEMISON: Because we have to do this across ethnicity, gender, geography.... That’s going to get us to Mars. I thought it was important for me to be able to provide some perspective in terms of not only crew operations but also how we talk about things. ESSENCE: When we do reach Mars,
how important will it be for the first group to be diverse?
JEMISON: What I found very interesting about the MARS story is that it had an international crew. Another thing I found interesting about the scripting is who leads, and that there was an equal group of men and women. I started pushing to use the term “human space flight” instead of the phrase “man to space flight.” As a little kid I remember being irritated about that phrase. ESSENCE: What would you say
2
YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS
Thanks to Britney Robbins, 29, African-American teens in Chicago are receiving the tools to build their own businesses, such as coaching on how to pitch. Through Robbins’s nonprofit, The Gray Matter Experience, five student groups were also awarded $5,000 to fund their ideas.
3
RIGHTING WRONGS
In 1838, Georgetown University sold 272 enslaved Africans for $3.3 million in today’s dollars and used a portion to settle its debts. The school formally apologized in September, renaming two buildings after African-Americans and granting preferential admission status to descendants of the enslaved.
has been your greatest achievement thus far?
ESSENCE: During the opening reception of the new Smithsonian museum, President Obama mentioned you in his statement. What was it like to be a part of the occasion? JEMISON: I was thrilled to be there. I knew that having this representation and this participation as part of the whole Smithsonian was vital. It’s about asserting our role in American history and in world history, and demonstrating how we’ve Jemison, transformed circa 1992 things. 78 ESSENCE .COM DECEMBER 2016
4
SYSTEMIC CHANGE NOW
According to their lawyer, the family of Sandra Bland reached a $1.9 million settlement in Bland’s tragic death. The lawyer also said the jail where she was found hung has been required to make improvements in regard to medical attention for inmates and sensors for detainee checks.
5 LGBTQ INCLUSION
Bishop Tonyia Rawls, founder of The Freedom Center for Social Justice in Charlotte, North Carolina, is passionate about LGBTQ rights. She started the Do No Harm Pledge, a part of a campaign aimed at enlisting faith leaders and others to stand in solidarity with LGBTQ people. Encourage folks to take the pledge at donoharmpledge.org.
Black students are suspended and expelled at three times the rate of their White counterparts, but a school in Baltimore is changing that. Educators at Robert W. Coleman Elementary opened a Mindful Moment Room to help students center themselves. Since implementing the practice in 2014, the school hasn’t had any suspensions.
7 TRENDING UP: HBCU
s
According to research, about one third of HBCUs reported an increase of at least 10 percent freshmen enrollment this year. Let’s hope our institutions continue to attract the best and brightest for years to come.
8 COOL IDEA
At a conference this summer, Amazon engineer Thomas Phillips, 34, proposed turning a Detroit school bus into a mobile tech lab where students learn to code, build Web sites and develop software. Phillips is now seeking funding.
9 A SAFE SPACE After a year of talks, UC Berkeley’s Black Student Union, along with other groups, successfully lobbied for an African-American Center on campus dedicated to the social, academic and political needs of its students. The center will be named in honor of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer.
10
Let’s be very “ clear: Strong
men—men who are truly role models—don’t need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful.
”
—First Lady Michelle Obama, stumping for the Hillary Clinton campaign at Southern New Hampshire University
For the latest news, follow ESSENCE Features Editor Lauren N. Williams on Twitter @LAURNWILLIAMS.
INSE T, COU RTESY OF NASA . 2. CH UCK OLU AL AB I/CH UCKSTR PHOTOS . 4 . KEITH G E T TER /G E T T Y IMAG ES . 5 . MOYE PHOTOG R APHY. 8 . SU PRU N/G E T T Y IMAG ES .
JEMISON: I don’t ever answer that question, but I’ll say that I’ve tried to work very hard over the years to help change the perception of who does science. I really want there to be an understanding that the social and physical sciences and the arts are not separate, that we should push for creativity.
6 A NEW APPROACH
