In between anatomy exams, I found time to watch African-American Lives, a PBS series that tracks the unknown ancestors of several famous African-Americans, including Dr. Mae Jemison, the first woman of color to go into space.
I’ve always dreamed of being an astronaut. After some investigation, I found an article of hers in the New York Times that discusses her experience as a black female in a white-male-dominated engineering program:
“Majoring in engineering, I would have maybe one of two or three African-American students in my classes. Some professors would just pretend I wasn't there. I would ask a question and a professor would act as if it was just so dumb, the dumbest question he had ever heard. Then, when a white guy would ask the same question, the professor would say, ''That's a very astute observation.''
These challenges are not uncommon among black students in higher education – even today. I, a black student, experienced similar issues in my science courses – seeing other students avoid partnering with me during projects, being talked down to by professors, hearing surprise/disbelief when I do well or understand a difficult concept. I know Dr. Jameson had it worse, and it inspires me to see her succeed despite those challenges.
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