Black History is American History, and we always look for ways to recognize the achievements and contributions of Black Americans each February during Black History Month.
In our Starter and Prep Club (1st-4th grade) programs on February 20th, members learned about Mae C. Jemison, the first Black woman to travel to space aboard the space shuttle Endeavor. They then constructed their own rockets and let fly in our gym (photos on top and bottom left)!
In the Media Lab suite, a series of posters were hung in each room highlighting the creative contributions of three great Black creators from Pittsburgh. Among the three was poet and comics writer Yona Harvey (pictured top right), who is a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh and co-writer of World of Wakanda, a Black Panther spinoff with famed essayist and novelist Ta-Nehisi Coates. Also included was the great photographer and chronicler of Black life in Pittsburgh in the 20th century Charles “Teenie” Harris (pictured bottom right).
We hope the aspiring engineers in our Club, comic creators in our Comic Book Lab, and photographers in various Media Lab programs are inspired by their example!