BLACK HISTORY MONTH
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
A series of LinkedIn profile headers celebrating the contributions of Black pioneers and innovators spanning across industry and practice.
created with Adobe Illustrator.
Katherine Johnson, NASA Mathematician (1950s-70s)
This week we say farewell to a true African-American pioneer and mathematical genius, Katherine Johnson. ‘Mrs. Johnson, who died Feb. 24 at 101, went on to develop equations that helped the NACA and its successor, NASA, send astronauts into orbit and, later, to the moon. In 26 signed reports for the space agency, and in many more papers that bore others’ signatures on her work, she codified mathematical principles that remain at the core of human space travel. Her title, poached by the technology that would soon make the services of many of her colleagues obsolete, was “computer.” She used a mechanical calculator in complex calculations to check the work of her superiors — engineers who, unlike her, were white and male. Mrs. Johnson did not command mainstream attention until President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the country’s highest civilian honor — in 2015. The next year, her research was celebrated in the best-selling book “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly and the Oscar-nominated film adaptation starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe.’ (Excerpt: The Washington, Post)
Lonnie Johnson and the Supersoaker (1990)
Profile header featuring Lonnie Johnson, African-American inventor and creator of the beloved and best-selling Supersoaker and Nerf toy lines. After a legal dispute with Hasbro, Mr. Johnson was awarded $73 million in royalties from Supersoaker sales. Mr. Johnson is a nuclear engineer, Tuskeegee University Ph.D, and former NASA scientist, with over 80 patents to date.
The Theme Building (1961):
Profile header depicting one of the most recognizable buildings in the world- The Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). However, it is less known that the Theme Building was designed in 1961 by Paul Williams, an African-American pioneer and innovator in architectural design. Williams went onto become the industry standard in single-family home design, and many are still advertised and sold today as, "Paul Williams-style".
Shaft in West Africa (1973):
Header design based on a 1973 Ebony Magazine cover featuring actor Richard Roundtree, better known as Shaft, on set in West Africa.