Hey, EHS, did you know these notable African-Americans? Otis Boykin invented 28 electronic devices including the control unit for the pacemaker. More information: Otis Boykin
Dr. Ben Carson is a neurosurgeon and professor that led a medical team that became the first to separate Siamese twins successfully. More information: Dr. Ben Carson
Emmett W. Chappelle is a biochemist who worked for NASA and discovered a method for detecting bacteria in water, food, and body fluids. More information: Emmett W. Chappelle
Dr. Charles Drew is best known for his work with blood plasma; he helped set up the American Red Cross blood bank. He also established the first blood bank in England. More information: Charles Drew
Dr. Lloyd Hall’s work in food sterilization and preservation improved processes in food packing and preparation. More information: Lloyd Hall
Dr. Percy Julian is known for developing synthetic steroids for use in the treatment of arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. More information: Percy Julian
Dr. Charles Turner is a zoologist known for his work with insects. He was the first to demonstrate that insects can hear. More information: Charles Turner
Dr. Daniel Hale Williams founded the Provident Hospital in Chicago. In 1893, he performed the first successful open heart surgery. More information: Daniel Hale Williams
In 1619,
America's first slaves from Africa arrived by ship in Jamestown, Virginia. The first record that identifies the
role of a slave is a 1640 court order that states the African must, "serve his said
master or his assigns for the time of his natural life here or elsewhere."
Jacob Lawrence was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey. As a young man, Jacob attended the Art Workshop, Harlem, under Charles Alston and Henry Bannan. He also, studied at the Harlem Art Center and American Artists School from l937-39.
In his series of paintings titled The Great Migration, (one pictured above) Jacob illustrates the great number of African-Americans who moved to the North after the Civil War in search of a better life. His parents were among those who migrated north and considered the first wave of the migration.
He certainly was not a direct witness to the mass migration northward but because of his artistic ability, his teachers and friends urged him to create a painted history of this event. Lawrence diligently researched the topic and it led him to compile a story in paintings. They are part of The Phillips Collection, housed in The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
According to author David Driskell, “Jacob Lawrence has looked at history with the discerning eye of a sensitive critic. He has recorded a visual record, which touches upon our national and ancestral interests. It is obviously noticeable that his paintings contain some of the visual symbols associated with man’s protest against the intolerable conditions that often beset him, but they also present to us a segment of reality, which ties our lives to history that is reflected in the immediate drama of everyday living. This is the reason why his style in art cannot be crammed into the usual bag of modern “isms”. Thus, he distinguishes himself as an artist who is highly sensitive to the conditions of life that face all mankind.” And it is because of this that I chose to highlight his work on our page. As always, I encourage you to find out where we’ve been so that we know where to go next.
