Speaker 1: Right now, it is time for the Way Black History Fact.
Speaker 1: And today's Way Black History Fact is sponsored by Underground
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Speaker 1: we're talking about the first black female astronaut. Doctor May
Speaker 1: Jemison is a physician, as if astronaut wasn't enough, and
Speaker 1: scientist who in nineteen ninety two became the first black
Speaker 1: woman astronaut in space. After attending Stanford and Cornell Universities,
Speaker 1: she served as a medical officer in the Peace Corps.
Speaker 1: In June nineteen eighty seven, she achieved a lifelong dream
Speaker 1: when she became the first black woman to be admitted
Speaker 1: into NASA's astronaut training program. Jemison made history again on
Speaker 1: September twelve, nineteen ninety two, when she flew into space
Speaker 1: aboard the Endeavour on Mission STS forty seven and became
Speaker 1: the first black woman in space. In recognition of her accomplishments,
Speaker 1: Jimison has received several awards and honorary doctorates. Today, she
Speaker 1: works as a scientist and public speaker. May Carrol Jemison
Speaker 1: was born on October seventeen, nineteen fifty six and Decatur, Aliba.
Speaker 1: She's the youngest child of Charlie Jemison, a roofer and carpenter,
Speaker 1: and Dorothy Jemison, an elementary school teacher. Her sister, Ada
Speaker 1: Jemison Bullock, became a child psychiatrist, and her brother, Charles Jemison,
Speaker 1: as a real estate broker. When May was three years old,
Speaker 1: the Jemison family moved to Chicago to take advantage of
Speaker 1: better educational opportunities. Her parents were supportive and encouraging of
Speaker 1: May's talents and abilities. Throughout her early school years, she
Speaker 1: spent a considerable amount of time in her school library
Speaker 1: reading all about aspects of science, especially astronomy. Jemison became
Speaker 1: convinced she wanted to pursue a career in biomedical engineering
Speaker 1: during her time at Morgan Park High School. May graduated
Speaker 1: in nineteen seventy three as a consistent honor student, then
Speaker 1: entered Stanford University on a National Achievement scholarship. As she'd
Speaker 1: been in high school, Jemison was very involved in extra
Speaker 1: curricular activities at Stanford, including dance and theater productions, and
Speaker 1: served as the head of the Black student Union. That's
Speaker 1: something that Q and I both did as well, so
Speaker 1: shout out to everyone who disipated in the BSU, but
Speaker 1: also the heads all right. She received a bachelor's of
Speaker 1: Science and Chemical Engineering from the university in nineteen seventy seven.
Speaker 1: Jimmison continued her education at Cornell University Medical College. During
Speaker 1: her years there, she found time to expand her horizons
Speaker 1: by studying in Cuba and Kenya and working at a
Speaker 1: Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand. She became a Doctor of
Speaker 1: Medicine in nineteen eighty one. After obtaining her medical degree,
Speaker 1: Jimmison interned at Los Angeles County University of Southern California
Speaker 1: Medical Center, then worked as a general practitioner. Beginning in
Speaker 1: January nineteen eighty three, she was the area Peace Corps
Speaker 1: Medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia. She served in
Speaker 1: the position for two and a half years while also
Speaker 1: teaching and conducting medical research on projects related to rabies,
Speaker 1: a parasitic disease I'm gonna try, schisto miasis maybe, and
Speaker 1: a hepatitis B vaccine. Following her return to the United
Speaker 1: States in nineteen eighty five, Jemison made a career change
Speaker 1: and decided to follow a dream she had nurtured for
Speaker 1: a long time. That October, she applied for NASA's astronaut
Speaker 1: training program. The Challenger disaster of January nineteen eighty six
Speaker 1: delayed the selection process, but when she reapplied a year later,
Speaker 1: Jemison was one of fifteen candidates chosen from a field
Speaker 1: of about two thousand. On June fourth, nineteen eighty seven,
Speaker 1: Jimison became the first black woman to would be admitted
Speaker 1: into the NASA Astronaut Training program. After more than a
Speaker 1: year of training, she became the first black female astronaut,
Speaker 1: earning the title of Science Mission Specialists. The job made
Speaker 1: her responsible for conducting crew related scientific experiments on the
Speaker 1: Space Shuttle. When Jemmison finally flew into space on September
Speaker 1: twelf nineteen ninety two, with six other astronauts aboard the
Speaker 1: Endeavor on Mission STS forty seven, she became the first
Speaker 1: black woman in space. During her eight days in space,
Speaker 1: Jemmison conducted experiments on weightlessness and motion, sickness of the
Speaker 1: crew and herself, and all. She spent more than one
Speaker 1: hundred and ninety hours in space before returning to Earth
Speaker 1: on September twentieth, nineteen ninety two, So a lot of
Speaker 1: ebony excellence in today's program