Arnaldo Tamayo-Mendez was the first black man and Latin man in space when he set out on a mission on the soyuz-38 in September 1980.
On February 3, 1984, mission specialist Dr. Ronald McNair and some of his crewmen executed the first runway landing of the Challenger at the Kennedy Space Center. McNair was a laser specialist, with his knowledge he played a key role in the mission. On his last Challenger mission, McNair was responsible for the Spartan-Halley satellite, which would track the orbit Halley’s comet, giving scientists a closer look. In space, with his spare time he entertained his other crew mates with a jazz performance on his saxophone, which was also the first in space. That flight ended in tragedy on January 28, 1986.
Garrett Morgan invented the three-colour electric traffic signal light in 1923 that is now on every street corner worldwide. He also invented the “Safety Helmet” in 1912, which was used in the World War I, and was the prototype gas mask used by fire departments and emergency rescue squads. In 1916, a gas explosion in Cleveland trapped workers in a tunnel 250 feet below lake Erie. Morgan led a crew of firemen in the tunnel wearing his gas masks. They rescued six unconscious people, who would of died along with the other twenty-five casualties. Four white members of the rescue squad were awarded medals by the city and considered heroes, while Morgan’s bravery and intelligence earned him nothing. The government never recognized him for his inventions.
Joe Louis defended his heavyweight crown for the twenty-fifth time on June 25, 1948, when he knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott in the third round at the Yankee Stadium. He was also known as the “Brown Bomber”, he held the title longer than any other heavyweight title holder did, eleven years and eight months. He had twenty-five championship, twenty-one of them ending in knockouts. Louis is recognized as the fighter who opened up boxing to blacks.
Wilma Rudolph was the first Black American woman runner to win three gold medals in the Olympic Games. She was awarded the title of the “Worlds Fastest Woman” by winning the 100-meter dash and the 400-meter relay at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Rudolph suffered an attack of double pneumonia and scarlet fever as a child, which left her unable to walk without braces until she was eleven years old.
In the 1968 Olympics, track star Tommie Smith won the gold medal for the 200-meter dash and his teammate John Carlos won the bronze. Both of them appeared on the winners’ stage wearing black stockings and white soled track shoes. They were each wearing a black glove on a hand. While the “Star-Spangled Banner” played, they both bowed their heads and held their black-gloved fists up high. A black cohesion was displayed, their actions spurred a lot of criticism, while Smith did not think they did anything wrong. He stated, “White America will only give us credit for an Olympic victory. They’ll say I’m an American, but if I did something bad, they’d say a Negro. Black America was with us all the way through.”
In 1954, Dorothy Dandridge was the first black woman to be nominated for an Academy Award as best female actress for her small part in the movie A Day at the Races (1937). Dandridge became one of the first black performers to achieve star status in Hollywood, but she was offered very few roles. Her death in 1965, did not earn her any notification for her outstanding contributions for her acting. Thanks to, Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte and Joel Fluelle, her star was implanted in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Bill Cosby was the first black actor to star in a TV series, when he appeared in the television show “I Spy” in 1965-1968. Cosby has also made numerous films and has won many Emmy and Grammy Awards. Halle Berry and Denzel Washington were 2002 Oscar Academy Award Winners for Best Actor and Best Actress, for the movies Training Day (Washington) and Monster’s Ball (Berry).
The most important and significant first thing done in history was the separation of the first Siamese twins. On September 7, 1987, pediatric surgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson, head of a John Hopkins Hospital surgical team, successfully separated Siamese twins who were joined at the Head. The intricate operation took five months to properly plan and it involved seventy doctors, nurses and technicians. The operation had a ten-page manual detailing each step of the process and the medical term rehearsed five times using dolls before actually performing the procedure. Newsweek stated that, “this could possibly be the most complex surgical procedure performed this century.”
Thanks to all the achievements, us black people can appreciate our pasts, and realize that many blacks have contributed to the Black History. We are as important as the first astronaut is and we should be getting all the recognition we deserve. The first black doctor, who separated the Siamese twins, has greatly influenced the doctors of today who might have to do the procedure again.
