051124 Way Black History Fact - The First Black Woman in Space

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Right now, it is time for the Way Black History Fact.
And today's Way Black History Fact is sponsored by Underground
Beach Club. From the Streets to the Beach. For the
latest in beachware, visit Underground Beach club dot com. Today
we're talking about the first black female astronaut. Doctor May
Jemison is a physician, as if astronaut wasn't enough, and
scientist who in nineteen ninety two became the first black

(00:23):
woman astronaut in space. After attending Stanford and Cornell Universities,
she served as a medical officer in the Peace Corps.
In June nineteen eighty seven, she achieved a lifelong dream
when she became the first black woman to be admitted
into NASA's astronaut training program. Jemison made history again on
September twelve, nineteen ninety two, when she flew into space
aboard the Endeavour on Mission STS forty seven and became

(00:45):
the first black woman in space. In recognition of her accomplishments,
Jimison has received several awards and honorary doctorates. Today, she
works as a scientist and public speaker. May Carrol Jemison
was born on October seventeen, nineteen fifty six and Decatur, Aliba.
She's the youngest child of Charlie Jemison, a roofer and carpenter,
and Dorothy Jemison, an elementary school teacher. Her sister, Ada

(01:08):
Jemison Bullock, became a child psychiatrist, and her brother, Charles Jemison,
as a real estate broker. When May was three years old,
the Jemison family moved to Chicago to take advantage of
better educational opportunities. Her parents were supportive and encouraging of
May's talents and abilities. Throughout her early school years, she
spent a considerable amount of time in her school library
reading all about aspects of science, especially astronomy. Jemison became

(01:32):
convinced she wanted to pursue a career in biomedical engineering
during her time at Morgan Park High School. May graduated
in nineteen seventy three as a consistent honor student, then
entered Stanford University on a National Achievement scholarship. As she'd
been in high school, Jemison was very involved in extra
curricular activities at Stanford, including dance and theater productions, and

(01:53):
served as the head of the Black student Union. That's
something that Q and I both did as well, so
shout out to everyone who disipated in the BSU, but
also the heads all right. She received a bachelor's of
Science and Chemical Engineering from the university in nineteen seventy seven.
Jimmison continued her education at Cornell University Medical College. During
her years there, she found time to expand her horizons

(02:14):
by studying in Cuba and Kenya and working at a
Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. She became a Doctor of
Medicine in nineteen eighty one. After obtaining her medical degree,
Jimmison interned at Los Angeles County University of Southern California
Medical Center, then worked as a general practitioner. Beginning in
January nineteen eighty three, she was the area Peace Corps

(02:35):
Medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia. She served in
the position for two and a half years while also
teaching and conducting medical research on projects related to rabies,
a parasitic disease I'm gonna try, schisto miasis maybe, and

(02:58):
a hepatitis B vaccine. Following her return to the United
States in nineteen eighty five, Jemison made a career change
and decided to follow a dream she had nurtured for
a long time. That October, she applied for NASA's astronaut
training program. The Challenger disaster of January nineteen eighty six
delayed the selection process, but when she reapplied a year later,
Jemison was one of fifteen candidates chosen from a field

(03:18):
of about two thousand. On June fourth, nineteen eighty seven,
Jimison became the first black woman to would be admitted
into the NASA Astronaut Training program. After more than a
year of training, she became the first black female astronaut,
earning the title of Science Mission Specialists. The job made
her responsible for conducting crew related scientific experiments on the
Space Shuttle. When Jemmison finally flew into space on September
twelf nineteen ninety two, with six other astronauts aboard the

(03:40):
Endeavor on Mission STS forty seven, she became the first
black woman in space. During her eight days in space,
Jemmison conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion, sickness of the
crew and herself, and all. She spent more than one
hundred and ninety hours in space before returning to Earth
on September twentieth, nineteen ninety two, So a lot of
ebony excellence in today's program