Trailblazing Black Americans in Science

We can thank Black Americans for some of history’s biggest scientific breakthroughs. Black researchers played—and continue to play—key roles in exploring space, improving computer technology, developing medical treatments, and more.

But these achievements haven’t been easy. Black Americans have faced a long history of discrimination in the United States because of their race. This has made access to education and jobs difficult. As a result, many Black scientists have made it a mission to ensure that everyone benefits from discoveries that improve people’s lives and health, including underserved communities. Others work to encourage more people of color to get involved in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, where they are underrepresented.

Read about some scientific advancements by Black Americans throughout history and see how their modern counterparts are continuing their legacy.

Black Americans have made some of history’s biggest scientific breakthroughs. They’ve explored space, improved computer technology, developed medical treatments, and more. And Black researchers continue to play key roles in these fields.

But these successes haven’t been easy. Black Americans have faced discrimination because of their race for a long time. In the United States, this has made education and jobs harder to get. Scientific discoveries improve people’s lives and health, but they don’t always reach underserved communities. Many Black scientists are working to ensure that these discoveries benefit everyone. Others encourage more people of color to get involved in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). That’s because they are underrepresented in these fields.

Read about some scientific advancements by Black Americans in the past. Then see how modern Black researchers are following in their footsteps. 

As a kid, Katherine Johnson was a math whiz. Born in West Virginia in 1918, she later worked for NASA as a “human computer” doing calculations by hand. She calculated the trajectory—the path of a flying object—needed to send the first American into space. Astronaut Alan Shepard made the historic flight in 1961. The following year, NASA prepared to send John Glenn into orbit around Earth—a first for American astronauts. The space agency used new electronic computers to perform the calculations. But with his life on the line, Glenn requested that Johnson check the math by hand. In her long career as a research mathematician, Johnson also contributed to the Apollo moon missions and the space shuttle program.

While Johnson was working behind the scenes at NASA, a kid in Philadelphia named Derrick Pitts followed every rocket launch on the news. Today, Pitts is the chief astronomer and director of the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. “Astronomy is an exciting field because there is always something new to discover,” he says. His projects over the years have included analyzing images of the surface of Mars and developing a program to get inner city kids involved with astronomy. Pitts enjoys sharing his love of the night sky with a diverse group of people and says, “I think I have one of the best jobs in the world.”

Katherine Johnson was a math whiz as a kid. She was born in West Virginia in 1918. Later she worked for NASA as a “human computer.” She did calculations by hand. When the first American went into space, Johnson calculated the spacecraft’s flight trajectory. That’s the path of a flying object. Astronaut Alan Shepard made the historic flight in 1961. The following year, NASA prepared to send John Glenn into orbit around Earth. It was a first for American astronauts. The space agency’s new electronic computers performed the calculations. But Glenn knew his life was on the line. So he asked for Johnson to check the math by hand. Johnson also worked on the Apollo moon missions and the space shuttle program. She had a long career as a research mathematician.

While Johnson worked behind the scenes at NASA, a kid in Philadelphia followed every rocket launch on the news. He was Derrick Pitts. Today Pitts is the chief astronomer and director of the Fels Planetarium at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. “Astronomy is an exciting field because there is always something new to discover,” he says. He’s worked on many projects over the years. For one project, he examined images of the surface of Mars. In another, he developed a program to involve inner city kids with astronomy. Pitts loves to share his love of the night sky with a diverse group of people. He says, “I think I have one of the best jobs in the world.”

Percy Julian grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, in the early 1900s during a time of racial segregation. Black people in the Southern U.S. did not have the same rights or access to education as White people. Julian worked hard to become a successful chemist. He earned a Ph.D. in chemistry and became a pioneer in making synthetic, or lab-made, versions of medicines that previously could be obtained only from plants. This included a treatment for glaucoma—an eye disease that can lead to vision loss. He also synthesized hydrocortisone, which is used to treat arthritis—a disease that causes painful swelling of joints. Once these medicines could be created in a lab, they became cheaper and more widely available to patients.

Today chemical engineers like Paula Hammond continue to create targeted medical treatments in their labs. Some of Hammond’s research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology aims to help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. This treatment uses powerful medicines to kill cancer cells. Unfortunately, the chemicals can also kill healthy cells in the body. Hammond is designing microscopic nanoparticles that carry chemotherapy medicines only to the parts of the body where they’re needed. “We can do this by designing the nanoparticle so that it binds specifically to the cancer cell,” she says. “This makes chemotherapy more effective while preventing side effects.”

Percy Julian grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, in the early 1900s. It was a time of racial segregation in the Southern U.S. Black people did not have the same rights or access to education as White people. Julian worked hard to succeed and earned a Ph.D. in chemistry. He found ways to make synthetic versions of medicines in a lab. Before this, these medicines could be made only from plants. One was a treatment for glaucoma. This eye disease can lead to vision loss. He also made synthetic hydrocortisone. It treats arthritis, a disease that causes painful swelling of joints. Because these medicines could be created in a lab, they became cheaper. More patients could get them. 

Today, chemical engineers continue to create targeted medical treatments in their labs. One of these researchers is Paula Hammond at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Some of her research aims to help cancer patients. Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses powerful medicines to kill cancer cells. But the chemicals can also kill healthy cells in the body. So Hammond is designing microscopic nanoparticles. They carry chemotherapy medicines only to parts of the body that need them. “We can do this by designing the nanoparticle so that it binds specifically to the cancer cell,” she says. “This makes chemotherapy more effective while preventing side effects.”

Today you’ll find personal computers in almost every school, home, or office. But in 1979, when Mark Dean became an engineer for the computing company IBM, the personal computer was a revolutionary idea. A few companies had begun selling desktop computers for use at home. IBM wanted to release its own design. It launched a top secret project, with Dean as the chief engineer, to create a personal computer within one year. The IBM personal computer was released in 1981—and it was a huge success. Dean holds three of the nine patents, or rights to inventions, used in the device. One of Dean’s ideas for early personal computers—a way to easily connect external components, like printers—would become an industry standard. Dean also developed technologies like improved color graphics and microchips with extremely fast processing power that would change the world of personal computing.

Computer scientist Quincy Brown says that Dean’s work laid the foundations for later research and innovations. “I am inspired by his contributions and by knowing that I’m part of his legacy,” she says. Some of Brown’s research has focused on making it easier for people to interact with electronic devices. For example, she’s studied how people of different ages use touch screens to find ways to make the technology more user-friendly. She currently works at the White House National Space Council to develop policies that will help more young people get involved in space and STEM fields. “What I enjoy the most is being able to introduce students to computer science and seeing them then go off and do amazing things,” says Brown.

Today personal computers are in almost every school, home, and office. But the personal computer was a still a groundbreaking idea in 1979. That’s when Mark Dean became an engineer for the computing company IBM. A few companies were selling desktop computers for home use. IBM wanted to release its own design. It started a top-secret project to create a personal computer within one year. Dean was the chief engineer. The IBM personal computer was released in 1981. It was a huge success. Dean holds three of the nine patents used in the device. That means he holds the rights to these inventions. Dean found a way to easily connect external components, like printers, to early personal computers. This idea would become an industry standard. Dean also developed improved color graphics. And he created microchips with extremely fast processing power. These technologies would change the world of personal computing.

Dean’s work laid the foundation for later research and developments, says computer scientist Quincy Brown. “I am inspired by his contributions and by knowing that I’m part of his legacy,” she says. In past research, Brown focused on helping people to interact with electronic devices. For example, she looked for ways to make touch screens more user-friendly. To do that, she studied how people of different ages use this technology. She now works at the White House National Space Council. There she develops policies to help more young people get involved in space and STEM fields. “What I enjoy the most is being able to introduce students to computer science and seeing them then go off and do amazing things,” says Brown.

Dr. Patricia Bath became an ophthalmologist in 1968. This type of physician specializes in treating eye and vision problems. Shortly after beginning her work as an eye doctor in New York City, she noticed a troubling trend. The rates of blindness and visual impairment were much higher among Black patients than White ones. Bath believed this was because more Black people lacked access to eye care, so she started a new method called Community Ophthalmology. The idea is to screen people in underserved communities to identify and treat eye problems before they lead to vision loss. Bath later invented a surgical device that allowed surgeons to remove cataracts—cloudy areas on the eye lens—using a much smaller incision than before. In 2022, she became one of the first two Black women to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire is an immunologist—a scientist who studies how illnesses affect the body’s disease-fighting immune system. Since 2014, she has led a team that studies coronaviruses, viruses that cause respiratory disease. When a new coronavirus sparked the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, Corbett-Helaire and her team went into action. “We were able to use all of our accumulated knowledge about coronaviruses to design and develop a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine,” she says. The mRNA in the vaccine instructs the body to produce a protein normally found on the surface of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19. This protein triggers a person’s immune system to fight against the virus. Along with working on new vaccines to protect against other future pandemics, Corbett-Helaire takes time to discuss the importance of vaccines with the public, advocate for better health-care access for communities of color, and encourage kids to consider careers in STEM.

Dr. Patricia Bath became an ophthalmologist in 1968. This type of doctor treats eye and vision problems. Bath started her work in New York City. Soon she noticed a problem. The rates of blindness and visual loss were much higher among Black patients than White ones. Bath believed this was because more Black people lacked access to eye care. So she started a new method called Community Ophthalmology. The idea is to screen people in underserved communities. Then doctors can identify and treat eye problems before they cause vision loss. Bath later invented a surgical device for removing cataracts. These are cloudy areas on the eye lens. The device allowed surgeons to use a much smaller incision than before. In 2022, she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. She was one of the first two Black women to earn this honor.

Kizzmekia Corbett-Helaire is an immunologist. She studies illnesses that affect the body’s disease-fighting immune system. Since 2014, she has led a team that studies coronaviruses. These viruses cause respiratory disease. In 2019, a new coronavirus sparked the Covid-19 pandemic. Corbett-Helaire and her team went into action. “We were able to use all of our accumulated knowledge about coronaviruses to design and develop a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine,” she says. The coronavirus behind Covid-19 has a protein on its surface. The mRNA in the vaccine instructs the body to produce this protein. Then the protein triggers a person’s immune system to fight the virus. Corbett-Helaire is working on new vaccines to protect against future pandemics. She teaches people about the importance of vaccines and promotes better health-care access for communities of color. She also encourages kids to consider STEM careers.