Oh, how fast so many of us have forgotten… our history!

“History is a People’s Memory… and without memory a man is demoted to the lower animals.” -Malcolm X.

I love this quote. To me, he was discussing the chaos that can come to a person or people, when they forget their history, culture and background. This quote exudes that once you forget the struggles that were fought and the people who died for your freedom to be had and success to be made, you have become demoted. You have become lesser than.

I truly believe that many black people with fame, high positions and money have forgotten about the battle that was fought for them. I believe many have forgotten about the lives that were lost for them. Why?

Well. it is because the youth now do not know. Many of them do not care to know. The educational system does not discuss issues or highlights the triumphs or struggles of African Americans. If anything the current educational system plays on the insecurities of the youth and instills a dotish subservient attitude in black youth.

Many parents do not know the stories of the past and are not passing it down to their children. So, now there is a never-ending cycle of uneducated, black children being born who do not fully understand where they come from.

Then there are the people who are aware of their history, but simply do not care. They do not care about their ancestors and believe the history is the past and live in the present. SMH! They do not realize that the past enables you to understand your present, and that the present is a map towards the future. They are all interlinked.

I am tired of the sagging pants, the twerking, the ratchetness, the deplorable degradation of black youth and adults who have forgotten their history. I am tired of seeing elders be spit in the face by youth who disrespect their legacy and great contribution to the world. We need a change. We need a big one, for this buffoonery and minstrel show of foolishness does nothing for our people, but hold us down.

Katherine Johnson: A black woman with brains and skill!

Today we celebrate the life of Katherine Johnson. She is an African-American physicist, space scientist, and mathematician. She has contributed to America’s aeronautics and space programs with the early application of digital electronic computers at NASA. Her bravery and determination helped pave the way for African-American women in technical fields. Everyday is Black History.

A young Katherine Johnson.

Katherine Johnson was born in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. From a young age, Johnson enjoyed mathematics and could easily solve mathematical equations. After moving to Institute, West Virginia, she attended West Virginia State High School and graduated from high school at age fourteen. Johnson received her B.S. degree in French and mathematics in 1932 from West Virginia State University (formerly West Virginia State College). At that time, Dr. W.W. Schiefflin Claytor, the third African American to earn a Ph.D. degree in mathematics, created a special course in analytic geometry specifically for Johnson. In 1940, she attended West Virginia University to obtain a graduate degree. Johnson was one of the first African Americans to enroll in the mathematics program. However, family issues kept her from completing the required courses. After college, Johnson began teaching in elementary and high schools in Virginia and West Virginia.

West Virginia State University, where Katherine Johnson Attended College in the early 1930s; At that time, it was an all black college.

In June 1953, Katherine was contracted as a research mathematician at the Langley Research Center… At first she worked in a pool of women performing math calculations. Katherine has referred to the women in the pool as virtual “computers who wore skirts.” Their main job was to read the data from the black boxes of planes and carry out other precise mathematical tasks. Then one day, Katherine (and a colleague) were temporarily assigned to help the all-male flight research team. Katherine’s knowledge of analytic geometry helped make quick allies of male bosses and colleagues to the extent that, they forgot to return me to the pool. Johnson was still exposed to racial and genders barriers but ignored them. She was assertive, and asked to be included in editorial meetings. Women were never in editorial meetings, however her persuasion got her in, for she expressed her knowledge of the work and that she belonged there.

A young Katherine Johnson working at NASA.

At NASA, Johnson started work in the all-male Flight Mechanics Branch and later moved to the Spacecraft Controls Branch. She calculated the trajectory for the space flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

In 1959 and the launch window for his 1961 Mercury mission. She plotted backup navigational charts for astronauts in case of electronic failures. In 1962, when NASA used computers for the first time to calculate John Glenn’s orbit around Earth, officials called on her to verify the computer’s numbers. Ms. Johnson later worked directly with real computers. Her ability and reputation for accuracy helped to establish confidence in the new technology. She calculated the trajectory for the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon. Later in her career, she worked on the Space Shuttle program, the Earth Resources Satellite and on plans for a mission to Mars. In 1970 the Apollo 13 was in space and the ship was damaged. Johnson’s calculations helped bring the astronauts back to safety.

The Damaged Apollo 13 Service Module in Space. Sector 4 Panel on the Right Side of the Craft Has Been Completely Blown Off. The astronauts where stuck in space. Katherine Johnson’s Trajectory Calculations Helped Bring the Apollo 13 Astronauts Safely Back to Earth in 1970

Johnson has received numerous awards and accolades for her work, courage, skills and work. These awards include a Honorary Doctorate of Science from Old Dominion University and another from Capitol College, She also received a Honorary Doctor of Laws, from SUNY Farmingdale. Johnson has received the NASA Langley Research Center Special Achievement Award five times. She also gained the Apollo Group Achievement Award, which included one of only 300 flags flown to the moon on board the Apollo 11, and many more.

Katherine Johnson meeting Claflin University AstroCHEM students.

Katherine Johnson is truly a visionary trailblazer. Her skill, perseverance and courage helped revolutionize the early space technology, concepts and practices. She has helped pave the way for so many black women in neuroscience, psychics, and mathematics and space.

Katherine Johnson (L) and Mae Jemison(R), first black woman in space.

She is a black woman who knows her worth for she did not allow the barriers of her gender or race to stop her from rising in her field. Each opportunity she was given she stamped her skill, knowledge and hard work, making her a name not to be forgotten. She made sure she was noticed and gained advancement because of it. Black women, Katherine Johnson is another example of the greatness we black women have. We have the power to deny our societal placement from depriving us of success. Black women fight it as Katherine Johnson has. Fight against the odds of inferiority, and degradation. We have the strength needed to succeed become great, revolutionize and create change. Tap into it black women. It begins with the will power within. Seize it and succeed. ~Know Your Worth~ -M. Millie

Katherine Johnson with former astronaut Leland Melvin.

Watch an interview with Katherine Johnson here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8gJqKyIGhE

A true Black Women Who Knows Her Worth: Angela Bassett

The day is not over. We would like to wish the amazing, beautiful, inspiration Angela Bassett a Happy Birthday. She turns a wonderful 55 years young today.

Angela Bassett was born in Harlem, New York, but raised in North Carolina and Florida. She is a graduate of Yale University, where she received her B.A. degree in African-American studies. She later gained a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. Basset has starred in many notable films and such as What’s Love Got to Do with It, Waiting to Exhale, The Rosa Parks Story, The Jacksons: An American Dream, and Notorious.

Angela Basset(L) as Tina Turner (r)

I love Angela Bassett. She has always portrayed the epitome of woman to me. She has portrayed on film and in person as a woman of strength. A woman, who has had her bruises and mistakes, but has overcome them and come out stronger than before.

Angela Basset in Waiting to Exhale.

I will never forget what she said in an interview a few years back. She was asked first to play the lead female role in the movie “Monsters Ball” that won the actress Halle Berry an Academy Award. However, she turned down the offer because of the nudity, graphic sex scene, and the degradation she felt the woman would be portraying.

Halle Berry in Monsters Ball

I respect that. I respect that she did not cave into money and acclaim. She held her morals and beliefs high and disregarded materialism or vanity from changing her mind. She also expressed that she has turned down many movie offers that wanted her to take her clothes off, or play a victim. She is someone who knows who she is. Although, she is an actor, she does not accept roles that do not express or portray who she is, or send messages that she believes in.

Angela Basset as Rosa Parks.

Wow, she truly is a black woman who knows her worth. She is an actor. She makes her livelihood from acting. However, despite that she stays true to who she is. She does not succumb to others and that is a skill we can all use. Family, do not succumb to the beliefs and wants of others. Stay true to who you are. At the end of the day you have to be happy with who you are and what you are about. Do not let others quantify or create who you are or what you are about.

Remember you create the best and only vision of you. Like Angela embrace yourself shamelessly and love who you are. Happy Birthday, Angela Bassett. Thank You for being a champion of black women who know their worth. ~Know Your Worth~ -M. Millie

P.S. If 55 years old looks this great, I want to be 55 now!  LOL!