Free Essay

African American Scientist

In:

Submitted By cole320
Words 609
Pages 3
Patricia Bath
Patricia Era Bath was born on November 4, 1942, in Harlem, New York, to Rupert Bath, the first black motorman for the New York City subway system, and Gladys Bath, a housewife and domestic worker who used her salary to save money for her children's education. Bath was encouraged by her family to pursue academic interests. Her father, a former Merchant Marine and an occasional newspaper columnist, taught Bath about the wonders of travel and the value of exploring new cultures. Her mother piqued the young girl's interest in science by buying her a chemistry set. As a result, Bath worked hard on her intellectual pursuits and, at the age of 16, became one of only a few students to attend a cancer research workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The program head, Dr. Robert Bernard, was so impressed with Bath's discoveries during the project that he incorporated her findings in a scientific paper he presented at a conference. The publicity surrounding her discoveries earned Bath the Mademoiselle magazine's Merit Award in 1960. After graduating from high school in only two years, Bath headed to Hunter College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1964. She then attended Howard University to pursue a medical degree. Bath graduated with honors from Howard in 1968, and accepted an internship at Harlem Hospital shortly afterward. The following year, she also began pursuing a fellowship in ophthalmology at Columbia University. Through her studies there, she discovered that African Americans were twice more likely to suffer from blindness than other patients to which she attended, and eight times more likely to develop glaucoma. Her research led to her development of a community ophthalmology system, which increased the amount of eye care given to those who were unable to afford treatment. In 1973, Patricia Bath became the first African American to complete a residency in ophthalmology. She moved to California the following year to work as an assistant professor of surgery at both Charles R. Drew University and the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1975, she became the first female faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at UCLA's Jules Stein Eye Institute. In 1976, Bath co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness, which established that "eyesight is a basic human right." By 1983, Bath had helped create the Ophthalmology Residency Training program at UCLA-Drew, which she also chaired—becoming, in addition to her other firsts, the first woman in the nation to hold such a position. In 1981, Bath began working on her most well-known invention: the Laserphaco Probe (1986). Harnessing laser technology, the device created a less painful and more precise treatment of cataracts. She received a patent for the device in 1988, becoming the first African-American female doctor to receive a patent for a medical purpose. (She also holds patents in Japan, Canada and Europe.) With her Laserphaco Probe, Bath was able to help restore the sight of individuals who had been blind for more than 30 years. In 1993, Bath retired from her position at the UCLA Medical Center and became an honorary member of its medical staff. That same year, she was named a "Howard University Pioneer in Academic Medicine." Among her many roles in the medical field, Bath is a strong advocate of telemedicine, which uses technology to provide medical services in remote areas. I chose Patricia Bath because I wanted to know more about women have impacted science and how recognize how big of a role they played in our history.

WORKS CITED PAGE

"Patricia Bath." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2015. Web. 22 Feb. 2015.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Medical Experimentation on African Americans

...Experimentation on African Americans Katryna A. Lawson Montgomery College Abstract This research paper is going to review some of the horrific ways that African Americans were abused by medical research experiments in the United States. I will also examine how America’s physicians has a disgraceful history of exploitative studies in which African Americans have been used as objects, for new surgical techniques, drug testing, nuclear radiation absorption, biased psychological testing, sterilization, and cadavers all in the name of medical science since the time of slavery. Medical experimentation on African Americans began during the time of slavery. The South was home to 90 percent of American blacks, in some states, the black population was completely comprised of slaves: Alabama, for example, forbade the presence of free blacks. Since there was so many slaves, this also made the south a haven for the lowest of the low, worst kind of medical experiments on African Americans. Harriet A. Washington, author of the book Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black American from Colonial time to the Present, cites many of the atrocious acts that the Black Americans experienced through telling personal stories like those of slave women, giving faces to many of the black victims of violent medical experimentation and racially biased investigations, while also revealing the doctors inflicting the abuse. Doctors tortured and abused African American subjects to...

Words: 1628 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The Biography, Race Theory and Conflicts of W.E.B. Du Bois

...theorists and a major factor of equal rights for blacks in the United States. At a time when many black Americans sought to improve their status by adapting to the ideals of white society and tolerating discrimination and segregation, W.E.B. Du Bois was a constant proponent of unconditional equal and civil rights for all blacks. As a social scientist, he was also a pioneer in documenting historical and social truths about blacks in the United States . W.E.B. Du Bois introduce the idea of double consciousness, an ideology that defines African Americans seeking to reconcile two different cultures that create their modern identity. Although Du Bois spoke of double consciousness in early twentieth century, the problem continues to affect many African Americans today. This research will give analyze the biography, race theory and conflicts of W.E.B. Du Bois. W. E. B. Du Bois 1868–1963 “Social Scientist, Political Activist, Author, Editor, and Educator” From the late 1890s through the 1940s, W. E. B. Du Bois was one of the leading black theorists and a major factor of equal rights for blacks in the United States. At a time when many black Americans sought to improve their status by adapting to the ideals of white society and tolerating discrimination and segregation, W.E.B. Du Bois was a constant proponent of unconditional equal and civil rights for all blacks. As a social scientist, he was also a pioneer in documenting historical and social truths about blacks in the United States...

Words: 1402 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

African American Athletes John Hoberman Summary

...The ongoing debate relating to the African American fixation on sport has long since brought many scientists, sports commentators and social historians to heated and conflicting resolutions. John Hoberman, a professor and author of Darwin’s Athletes (1996), believes himself to be quite capable of commenting on the considerably taboo topic. Darwin’s Athletes is controversial and provocative, undermining the ability of African Americans, athletes, or intellectuals (Haine, 1999). According to Kenneth Shropshire and Earl Smith (1998), Hoberman displays African American athletes as intellectually incapable, “groveling sub humans” lusting for only sport glory, and harsh supporters of capital punishment. Additionally, Hoberman maintains that “sport...

Words: 727 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Hurston Strengths And Weaknesses

...Zora Neale Hurston, part artist/author and part social scientist her prowess for anthropological research help preserve some of the African-American cultural traditions and Folklife especially those that stemmed from Haiti and the Caribbean Islands (you can check out some of the Haitian folk songs here https://www.floridamemory.com/audio/hurston.php). One of her strengths was in her incorporation of her research into her writing; the bridge of information can be seen in Mules and Men which captures an account of her own research adventures but also African-American Folklore and life in Florida and New Orleans. If one could consider Hurston having any weaknesses it would most likely be her political conservatism, her biggest gaff being on...

Words: 360 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Brian Wallis's Essay 'Black Bodies, White Science'

...Brian Wallis in his paper “Black Bodies, White Science: Louis Agassiz’s Slave Daguerreotypes,” exposes how white people in the 19th century use early science to highlight the inferiority of the African American slave. Walls says that due to the scientist public prejudice, in the 19th century the term racism surges. Louis Agassiz was the first scientific that used photography to remark the difference between white people body and black people body. He and the others Scientifics, categorized the black people as inferiors, animals, and as vulgar and seductive people. Scientist photograph the naked body of black people and express that their shape is not considered as higher beauty. Wallis express the differences between the typological photograph...

Words: 279 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Carmella

...Benjamin Banneker  February 25, 2014 By: Carmella Cross Benjamin Banneker born November 9,1731 he was born in Ellicott’s Mills, Md.. He was the son of ex-slave named Robert, whose wife Mary Banneker, was the daughter of an Englishwoman and an African ex-slave. He was taught to read by his white grandmother named Molly and for a short time he also attended a small Quaker school. He was best know as Colonial African-American scientist and surveyor of was Washington, D.C.. Benjamin Banneker has been called the first African American intellectual. Benjamin was a free-born descendant of slaves who had became famous 18th-century astronomer, mathematician and surveyor. He was also considered by many to be the first African-American scientist. He taught himself astronomy and accurately forecast-ed lunar and solar eclipses. Benjamin was raised on a tobacco farm in rural Maryland, where he attend school but was largely self-taught in the sciences. Although Benjamin worked most of his life as a farmer, his analytical and problem solving skills became legendary. Hie=s achievements were indeed impressive at the age of 24 he studied clockworks and constructed his own clock from wood. He taught himself astronomy and published a popular almanac, Benjamin Banneker’s Almanac from 1792 to 1797. These almanacs included his own astronomical calculations as well as opinion pieces, literature and medical and tidal information among other things. In 1791, Benjamin was technical...

Words: 488 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The Culture Of African-Americans During The Harlem Renaissance

...The culture of freedom fighting throughout the African-American community is long lived and overdue. Even before the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920’s millions of African-Americans were victims of slavery and oppression. The stereotyping of African-Americans was brought to the theatrical stage with the advent of the blackface minstrel. Beginning in the early 19th century, white performers darkened their faces with burnt cork, painted grotesquely exaggerated white mouths over their own, donned woolly black wigs and took the stage to entertain society. The character they created was Jim Crow. Racism has lived before the Jim Crow era; however, this time in history only made freedom for African-Americans harder to obtain and oppression to the minorities...

Words: 323 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

History of Minority Populations

...History of Minority Populations in the Child Welfare System Honore'-Collins, C. P. (2005). THE IMPACT OF AFRICAN AMERICAN INCARCERATION ON AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN IN THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM. Race, Gender & Class, 12(3/4), 107-118. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. African Americans are excessively represented in child welfare systems and in the American Judiciary System. The history of America shows how discriminatory laws have affected those in the two systems. It took the struggle of civil rights for African American children to be included in the child welfare system. Steps are needed to control the overwhelming numbers of African Americans represented in both systems. There is still much need for qualitative and quantitave research involving the connectivity between the two systems so that social workers, researchers, political scientists, and policy makers can make an attempt to collaborate and find alternative prevention plans. Service provisions are needed to address African Americans and their children in these situations. Documentation is necessary from those working in both systems over the inclusion of African Americans in these systems. Lundgren, Lena M., Robert F. Schilling, and Susan D. Peloquin. "Evidence-based drug treatment practice and the child welfare system: the example of methadone." Social Work 50.1 (2005): 53+. General OneFile. Web. 10 July 2011. Child welfare agencies should have policies to promote training programs so that the social workers...

Words: 512 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Camelot 1960s

...In the 1960’s, the Camelot era, everything was looking upwards for the U.S. First, a man was on the moon by the late 1960’s and scientists were advancing in every way. Jim Crow Laws were abolished and racism was finally overcome. The March on Washington, Civil rights movement, and great leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. were prominent in ending this secondary to nothing crisis. Bravery and overflowing pride outlined the 60’s for all African-Americans. Proud individuals fought and struggled to make America the land of the free. People were hopeful, they knew America could jump over their obstacles to be the world's greatest nation. First, televised debates, then rock and roll music and computer technology and America was finally starting to...

Words: 2461 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

A Sample of a Guide Written by Me

...Chapter 1: Introduction We will be helping our students learn more about black history by: * Introducing them to African American heroes that they may not have heard about. * Teaching them to use new technology. * Introducing African American Heroes Each teacher will take a specific area of African American heroes to make a lesson around. Say for example if you are the science teacher you might want to focus maybe on African American scientist. Prezi Prezi is a cloud based presentation software and storytelling tool that is used for exploring and sharing ideas on a virtual canvas. Prezi is used as platform for bridging linear and non-linear information, and as a tool for both for free-form brainstorming and structured presentation. Text, images, videos and other presentation media are placed upon the canvas, and can be grouped together in frames. Users then designate the relative size and position between all presentation objects and may pan and zoom in and between these objects. For linear presentations, users can construct a prescribed navigation path. Prezi was initially developed by Hungarian architect Adam Somlai-Fischer as an architectural visualization tool. Prezi’s stated mission is to “make sharing ideas more interesting”, and it is intended to be an intuitive tool to develop and share ideas as a visual narrative. . Wordle Wordle is a word could that is a visual representation for text data, typically used to visualize free form text...

Words: 277 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Researc Without Emapthy

...Research without Empathy In 1932, the Public Health Service, working with the Tuskegee Institute, began a study to record the natural history of syphilis in hopes of justifying treatment programs for blacks. It was called the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male." The study initially involved 600 black men, 399 with syphilis, 201 who did not have the disease. The study was conducted without patient knowledge or consent. Researchers told the men they were being treated for "bad blood," a local term used to describe several ailments, including syphilis, anemia, and fatigue. In truth, they did not receive the proper treatment needed to cure their illness. They didn’t even know they were in fact a part of a scientific study. In exchange for taking part in the study, the men received free medical exams, free meals, and burial cost coverage. The study lasted 40 years before it was exposed by the media. In July 1972, an Associated Press reporter published an article about the study, stating: “For 40 years the U.S. Public Health Service has conducted a study in which human guinea pigs, denied proper medical treatment, have died of syphilis and its side effects. The Study was conducted to determine from autopsies what the disease does to the human body.” Public outcry was immediate and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare launched an investigation. An advisory panel formed to review the experiment and decided that although the men had agreed to the...

Words: 894 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Tuskegee Syphlis Study

...violated. The physicians conducting the study misled the men from the beginning of the experiment. They purposely told men that they had “bad blood” and that they would treat them. Instead, these men were given a placebo. Physicians made sure that they did not receive treatment or help from anyone else. The reward for this “therapy” was free meals, free medical examinations and free burial insurance. It took more than 20 years to reveal the details of this famous Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Tuskegee became a symbol of discrimination in health treatment, ethical misbehavior in human research, and government abuse of innocent people that died in the name of the bad study and science. The entire Syphilis event fortified a fear of the African Americans toward white human race in medical and...

Words: 2186 - Pages: 9

Premium Essay

Prisoners of Henrietta Lacks, and the Value of Their Fate

...Prisoners of Henrietta Lacks, and the Value of Their Fate Inquiry Question: How does Rebecca Skloot’s depiction of prisoner experiments and research change the way we think about how early medical developments were first brought to life, and who really took the risks we should credit for them? Hypothesis/Working Thesis: Considering the reduced liabilities, rights, and public outreach of prisoners in the past, using prisoners as test rats was viewed as highly unethical and forceful by many. Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Crown Publishers, 2010. Print. In the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot not only argues her point, but also does a great job at informing and teaching her readers the vast risks prisoners were susceptible to while being used by doctors as human guinea pigs. Skloot makes many references to different potentially deadly diseases that were injected into prisoners for further research. The public’s opinion on this happening was shocking; many thinking it was highly unethical and forceful of the doctors. Skloot makes claims about how prisoners were viewed as vulnerable inmates who were unable to give informed consent. Regardless of how the treatment was viewed, prisons and doctors did what they wanted to do in those days ranging from diseases, to chemical warfare agents, to deterring how X-raying testicles affected sperm count (Skloot 129). Throughout her study of how HeLa cells have expanded, and where they...

Words: 729 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Mary Jackson's Impact On The Twentieth Century

...Latoya Tanilus Mrs. Henderson American History/ Period 4 21 February 2017 Mary Jackson "Coming here from the South will be a culture shock. It is important for us to reach out and help them adjust." Mary Jackson. Mary had a love for science and a passion to help people that were surrounding her. Mary hometown was in Hampton, Virginia where there weren't many opportunities for black and especially for black women. "In the 1970a Mary help young children's that were in the science club and the "Hampton's King Street Community center to build their own tunnel vision and use it to do experiments." (Shetterly) Mary Jackson impacted the twentieth century in many positive ways. Mary set a path for women to go into the engineering field, and made...

Words: 607 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Gloria Naylor And Battle Royal

...narrate racism faced by African Americans at that time. In the meaning of a word the Gloria narrates the importance of evaluating the word which are used and heard. She was humiliated and called a “nigger” by a young white boy. This experience invoked the feelings in her that she is living in a society which is based on racial discrimination against black people. In addition, she presented arguments of evaluating words which usually have different meanings and are used in different contexts. On the other hand, in Battle Ralph Ellison has narrated his personal experience of delivering a speech in a luxurious environment of white people gathering. He was humiliated during his speech and didn’t receive any respect from the audience. These racial issues experienced by the narrators of the stories clearly undermine the curse of racism. Considering this aspect, the presented paper will cover comparative analysis of the racial issues narrated in these stories. In the essay Nigger: the meaning of a word Gloria Naylor thoroughly discusses the...

Words: 1088 - Pages: 5