Mae Jemison
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An American physician and NASA astronaut She became the first African American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992 By the time she was thirty-one Mae Jemison had received a double-major in Chemical Engineering and African-American studies and had served as a doctor in the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra Leone She had also made history when she was selected from a pool of 2,000 applicants and became the first black woman selected to be an astronaut by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) She then went on the publish a book for kids and founded her own company, the Jemison GroupBecoming an astronaut was, as Marilyn Marshall noted in Ebony, a "natural progression" for Jemison As a young girl and teenager she was always interested in science, especially astronomy, and was encouraged by her parents and teachers to pursue not only her science studies, but also dance and art She earned a double degree at Stanford University--in chemical engineering and Afro- American studies--and then studied medicine at Cornell University While at Cornell she traveled to Thailand and Kenya to provide primary medical care services After completing her medical internship Jemison joined the Peace Corps and worked as a staff physician in West Africa.
"I took care of Peace Corps volunteers and State Department personnel in Sierra Leone and I oversaw the medical health care program for volunteers in Liberia," Jemison explained to an Ebony contributorJemison was working as a general practitioner in Los Angeles when she first applied to the space program, in October of 1985--three months before the space shuttle Challenger accident that killed seven astronauts NASA postponed the application process because of the Challenger incident, but Jemison still aspired to become an astronaut and re-applied in 1986 "I didn't think about [the Challenger] in terms of keeping me involved," she told Marshall "I thought about it because it was very sad because of the astronauts who were lost, but not in any way keeping me from being interested in it or changing my views about things" Jemison was one of 15 candidates selected from a field of nearly 2,000 aspiring astronauts In addition to her assignment as mission specialist, she worked as a liaison between the Johnson Space Center in Houston and NASA crew members in Cape Canaveral, FloridaJemison came a step closer to being the first black woman in space when she was assigned the role of mission specialist for the June of 1991 shuttle Discovery flight, Spacelab-J A joint venture with Japan, Space lab-J was charged with conducting life science and materials processing experiments in space to help scientists better understand the environment As a mission specialist--or "scientist astronaut"--Jemison's responsibilities included, as she explained to Marshall in Ebony, being "familiar with the shuttle and how it operates, to do the experiments once you get into orbit, to help launch the payloads or satellites, and also do extra-vehicular activities, which are the space walks".
On September 12, 1992, over five years after joining NASA, Jemison became the first African-American female to go into space She served as a science mission specialist during an eight-day voyage upon the Space Shuttle Endeavour Jemison's job was to study weightlessness and motion sickness on the seven-person crew She also conducted an experiment with tadpoles "We wanted to know how the tadpoles would develop in space with no gravity," she explained to Essence She continued, reporting that "When we got back to Earth the tadpoles were right on track, and they have turned into frogs"Joseph D Atkinson, Jr, head of NASA's Equal Opportunity Programs Office, described Jemison as a "very stately, intelligent, sincere and stable young woman" Commenting to Marshall, he added that Jemison earned high marks for being not only "highly qualified technically," but also "extremely sensitive to the social needs of the community".
Regarding her role as the nation's first black woman astronaut, Jemison commented to Ebony on what her achievement might signify to other women "The thing that I have done throughout my life is to do the best job that I can and to be me In terms of being a role model, I really feel like if I'm a role model, what I'd like to be is someone who says, 'No, don't try to necessarily be like me or live your life or grow up to be an astronaut or a physician unless that's what you want to do'"In addition to her 1988 Essence Award, she was named the Gamma Sigma Gamma Woman of the Year in 1990 and in 1992 received the Ebony Black Achievement Award in 1992 She also received an honorary doctorate from Lincoln University in 1991 Then, in 1992 an alternative public school in Detroit was named for her The Mae C Jemison Academy.
During those years she conducted science experiments for NASA and kept up her interests in medicine and science with various board memberships, including a stint from 1990 to 1992 on the Board of Directors of the World Sickle Cell Foundation She also held memberships in the American Medical Association, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science She has gone on to serve on the advisory committee of the American Express Geography Competition and as an honorary board member of the Center for the Prevention of Childhood MalnutritionIn March of 1993 Jemison decided to leave NASA and she soon accepted a prestigious Montgomery teaching fellowship at Dartmouth College That same year she founded The Jemison Group, a firm that researches, develops, and markets advanced technologies She soon turned her considerable talents and energies towards helping children in school, particularly with science She explained her goal to Essence, "What we have to figure out is how to maintain the three C's of science--curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking--in our children" Jemison has done her part by co-sponsoring an annual International Science Camp for kids aged 12 to 16 The month-long summer camp is free to qualified applicants and focuses on critical thinking and experiential learning She also promoted science for kids by serving as the National School Literacy Advocate for the Bayer Corporation's program "Making Science Make Sense".
However, probably her broadest step towards reaching kids was the 2001 publication of her book Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments From My Life Publishers Weekly wrote of the book, which is aimed at children in grades seven through 12, "this inspiring autobiography is a testimony to the power of setting goals and the strength of character necessary to achieve them"However, Jamison's achievements have not shielded her from one of the uglier facts of our society--police brutality In 1996 Jemison was stopped for a routine traffic violation in Nassau Bay, Texas Upon finding that Jemison had a previous speeding violation the officer, who was white, attempted to arrest her In the course of the arrest he grabbed her hand, twisted her wrist, and forced her to the ground Jemison filed a complaint with the police department It was quoted in part in Jet: "In my opinion, there is absolutely no justification for an officer to treat the people he is sworn to protect in this high-handed and abusive manner" She continued, "The officer was disrespectful and abusive I kept asking him why he was doing this".
Pending an investigation the officer was suspended with payDespite this ugly incident, Jemison continued to serve as a role model to women and African Americans She told Newsweek, "One of the things that I'm very concerned about is that as African-Americans, as women, many times we do not feel that we have the power to change the world and society as a whole" With her life and accomplishments she has proven that idea very, very wrong.
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Mae C. Jemison - Mini Bio
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A short biography of Mae C. Jemison, On June 4, 1987, she became the first African American woman ever admitted into the astronaut training program. On Septe...
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Dr. Mae Jemison, Science Literacy on LIVING SMART with Patricia Gras
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Dr. Mae Jemison teaches us about education, literacy in science and technology, and the keys individuals need to excel. She promotes the value of education,...
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Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together
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http://www.ted.com Mae Jemison is an astronaut, a doctor, an art collector, a dancer ... Telling stories from her own education and from her time in space, s...
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Episode 43: Mae Jemison (100 Year Starship)
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The Energy Makers (www.theenergymakers.com) Russ Capper visits with Dr. Mae Jemison, physician, engineer, former Astronaut and the world's first woman of col...
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Mae Jemison Space Scientist Part1
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Mae Jemison Space Scientist Part1 By Gail Sakurai.
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1992: Space Shuttle Flight 50 (STS-47) - Endeavour
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Space Shuttle flight 50 (STS-47), narrated by the astronauts. Launch: 12 September 1992. Crew: Robert L. Gibson, Curtis L. Brown, Jr., Mark C. Lee, N. Jan Da...
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Americans In Focus: Dr. Mae Jemison
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Astronaut who rode Endeavor into space in 1992 making her the first African-American female in space. Founded the Jemison Research Group which runs an intern...
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1ST BLACK WOMAN ASTRONAUT Dr. MAE JEMISON! 2012
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http://www.facebook.com/TraipsingThruFilms - In 1992 Dr. Mae Jemison became the first African- American female to fly to space. She was on board Space Shuttl...
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Mae Jemison by Angelique8th
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This movie is about Mae Jemison and facts about her life. Hope you enjoy it!
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Mae C. Jemison - Black History Month
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Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American physician and Nasa astronaut. She became the first African Ameri an woman to travel in space when sh...
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Mae Jemison Biography
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Women of Science: Mae Jemison
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Come learn about the awesome astronaut, Dr. Mae Jemison! Sources: http://energyquest.ca.gov/scientists/jemison.html http://teacher.scholastic.com/space/mae_j...
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Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together: Art Video: Art Talk
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http://www.sporf.net/ Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together: TED: Art Talk Mae Jemison is an astronaut, a doctor, an art collector, a dancer ......
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Mae Jemison
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This is about Mae Jemison when she went to space for the first time and when she had followed her dreams and never gave up.
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Three Minutes in HerStory - Dr. Mae Jemison
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Lesbionix Lesbian Comic Strip Three Minutes in HerStory - Dr. Mae Jemison.
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Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together
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First Afro-American female astronaut visits Jamaica
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The pioneering Dr. Mae Jemison, the first African-American female astronaut, who served six years as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administratio...
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mae c jemison
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Dalyla's black history project about Mae C. Jemison.
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Space, Success, and a More Scientifically Literate Society
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In this spirited discussion, former astronaut Mae Jemison and Kathie Olsen, the deputy director of the National Science Foundation, speak on the importance o...
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Dr Mae Jemison
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This is Part 2 in a 5 part series on Black History I shot and produced for television to bring awarness to our Black Heroes.
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Mae Jemison Speaks About Government Funding of Science
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Mae C. Jemison, the first African-American woman to travel into space, speaks at the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, event "Sputnik in the Y...
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100YSS @ EU Parliament - Mae Jemison Opening Remarks
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100YSS Principal Mae Jemison delivers opening remarks during the 100 Year Starship session at the EU Science: Global Challenge, Global Collaboration (ES:GC2)...
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MAE JEMISON STYLE - BLACK HISTORY SERIES
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Watch other styles in this series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcfhymiRLnE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wmpo3mYMVo8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJY4G...
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My Journey to space: Stephanie D Wilson at TEDxDunedin
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Stephanie flew on her first mission in space on board the Space Shuttle mission STS-121, and is the second African American woman to go into space, after Mae...
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