Also American

Curriculum unit

Hidden Figures: Black Science & Invention

The Black scientists, doctors, and inventors who shaped the modern world — and were too often written out of it.

Unit objectives

Students identify major Black contributions to science, medicine, and invention and explain why so many went unrecognized.

  1. Lesson 1 · 1 class period

    Early scientists and inventors

    Objectives

    Meet Black scientists and inventors from Banneker to Garrett Morgan.

    Materials

    Timeline entries below; the Black Science theme.

    Benjamin Banneker's almanacs, George Washington Carver's agriculture, and Garrett Morgan's inventions.

    Teach from these moments
    1. 1792
      Benjamin Banneker's Almanac

      The self-taught astronomer and mathematician publishes his almanac and challenges Thomas Jefferson on racial equality.

    2. November 20, 1923
      Garrett Morgan patents the traffic signal

      Self-taught inventor Garrett Morgan patents a three-position traffic signal — after earlier inventing a smoke hood that saved lives in a 1916 tunnel disaster.

    Discussion questions

    What did these figures invent or discover? Why were they often uncredited?

  2. Lesson 2 · 1 class period

    Pioneers of medicine

    Objectives

    Explore Black breakthroughs in medicine and surgery.

    Materials

    Timeline entries below; Daniel Hale Williams; Charles Drew.

    Daniel Hale Williams's heart surgery, Charles Drew's blood banks, and Marie Maynard Daly's chemistry.

    Teach from these moments
    1. July 9, 1893
      Daniel Hale Williams performs open-heart surgery

      Sutures a stab victim's pericardium at Chicago's Provident Hospital — among the first successful heart operations.

    2. 1940
      Charles Drew pioneers blood banking

      Drew's work on blood plasma storage saves countless lives.

    Discussion questions

    How did these advances save lives? What barriers did the doctors face?

  3. Lesson 3 · 1 class period

    Reaching space

    Objectives

    Follow Black Americans into the space program.

    Materials

    Timeline entries below; Katherine Johnson; Mae Jemison.

    Katherine Johnson's spaceflight math and Mae Jemison's journey to orbit.

    Teach from these moments
    1. February 20, 1962
      Katherine Johnson and the flight of Friendship 7

      NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson verifies the orbital calculations for John Glenn's spaceflight — one of the "hidden figures" of the space race.

    2. September 12, 1992
      Mae Jemison, first Black woman in space

      Jemison orbits Earth aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

    Discussion questions

    What did it take to be the "first"? Why were these "figures" hidden so long?