​"The first thing about empowerment is to understand that you have the right to be involved. The second one is that you have something important to contribute. And the third piece is that you have to take the risk to contribute it."

• DOCTOR & ASTRONAUT
  
• FIRST woman of color in the world to go to space
• Earned her bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering, and her doctorate in medicine
• Before being selected for the astronaut training program, she was a medical officer for the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and also practiced general medicine in the United States
• Inspired by the character of Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) on Star Trek to apply for the astronaut program -- years later, Jemison had a cameo on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
• In space, she conducted experiments on bone cells, as well as studied the effects of weightlessness and motion sickness on astronauts
• Brought a photograph of pilot Bessie Coleman on her historic first mission to space
• Cofounded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for Excellence (in honor of her mother), which develops educational materials and programs with a special emphasis on experiential learning and science literacy
• Started a science camp for children called "The Earth We Share"

Photo: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: Drimmer, Stephanie W. National Geographic Kids: The Book of Heroines: Tales of History's Gutsiest Gals. Washington DC: National Geographic Partners, LLC, 2016. Print.
​Edwards, Sue B. and Duchess Harris. Hidden Human Computers: The Black Women of NASA. Minneapolis: Abdo Publishing, 2017.
Harrison, Vashti. Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2017. Print.
Ignotofsky, Rachel. Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World. New York: Ten Speed Press, 2016. Print.
Wilson, Jamia. Young, Gifted and Black. London: Quarto Publishing, 2018. Print.
(1993, March). Biographical Data: Mae C. Jemison (M.D.). https://www.jsc.nasa.gov

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