Enlightened Free Thinking Nubian Kings And Queens

January 5 is George Washington Carver Day in honor of the brilliant agricultural chemist who died on this day in 19 43. Nicknamed "The Peanut Man" and the "Wizard of Tuskegee," Carver headed the agricultural department of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and was one of the most prominent scientist of his day. He was renowned for finding new uses for everyday items. Carver's research in improved farming techniques helped to revolutionize farming in America. He once wrote, "I wanted to know the name of every stone and flower and insect and bird and beast." This is a rarely acknowledged National Holiday to recognize a great African American scientist. In 1935, Carver was specifically appointed to the Department of Agriculture by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to address the southern farming crisis. Among other enactments he advised farmers to use crop rotation. Carver's accomplishments found that since peanuts and sweet potato crops have...

Mary Jane Holmes Shipley Drake, born in Missouri in 1841, was one of six children of Robin and Polly Holmes. From 1852 to 1853 Mary Jane was the subject of a fifteen-month legal battle known as Holmes v. Ford to obtain her freedom.  That battle also helped determine the status of slavery in the Oregon Territory.   The Holmes family was owned by Missouri farmer Nathaniel Ford.  In 1844 Ford brought the family west on the Oregon Trail, promising Robin and Polly their freedom if they would help him establish a farm in the Oregon Territory.   Ford refused to honor his promise for five years after their arrival, finally relenting in 1849.  He freed the parents and their new born son but refused to release nine-year-old Mary Jane and her other siblings including two who had been born in Oregon Territory.  Ford intended to sell each of the four children when they reached adulthood. Ford’s refusal to release Mary Jane Holmes and her siblings prompted R...

Neil deGrasse Tyson to receive the National Academy of Sciences’ most prestigious honor By  Rachel Feltman The National Academy of Sciences has announced that Neil deGrasse Tyson, most widely known for hosting the recent reboot of Carl Sagan’s popular science show “Cosmos,” will receive their most prestigious award at a ceremony this April. The Public Welfare Medal  was first presented in 1914 (when it went to two men integral to the Panama Canal building project) and is intended to  recognize those who work to promote science for the benefit of humanity . Tyson will be the first person to receive the award for his efforts in science communication to the general public since Sagan himself won in 1994. The two men are connected by more than their shared awards and TV styles: Back when Tyson was a high school student in the Bronx considering colleges, Sagan  wrote him a heartfelt invitation  to visit his lab at Cornell — one that Tyson accepted. He ende...

The U.S. celebrates Black History Month in February to honor African-Americans' achievements and  contributions to society. People and organizations across the country hold events to recognize  pioneers such as Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshall and Jackie Robinson. In its earliest form, the  tradition is almost 90 years old, but some people don't know its origins. Historian Carter G. Woodson established Negro History Week, which began Feb. 12, 1926. He scheduled  it at that time to match up with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass and President Abraham Lincoln,  according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 1976, Negro History Week became Black History Month. President Gerald Ford urged the public to  "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every  area of endeavor throughout our history," according to the International Association of Official  Human Rights Agencies. Nowadays, every Black History Mont...