Celebrating Black Brillance

It’s a bit ironic and definitely unfortunate that in the African-American community (reported) good news is so scarce. With the main stream media so infrequently reporting about the accomplishments of young, gifted African Americans-we must take it upon ourselves to be the sounding board, acknowledging each other’s achievements.

Google's doodle celebrating Dr. Percy Lavon Julian.

Today, Google's doodle celebrates a 'forgotten genius,' Chemist, Percy Lavon Julian. He was the grandson of slaves who was not permitted to attend high school, who later went on to become one of the first African-Americans to earn a Ph.D in chemistry. Dr. Julian was a researcher and pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medical drugs from plants. Dr. Julian synthesized chemicals from plants to make medicine, which included treatment for glaucoma and other inflammatory illnesses. He’s most well-known for synthesizing male and female hormones from soybean oil and later creating a synthetic substitute for cortisone. His cortisone substitute was inexpensive, yet effective, and helped make the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis more accessible. He obtained more than 100 patents and was the first African-American to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. His work laid the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills. During World War II, DR. Julian also developed a foam from soy protein that could put out oil and gas fires; it was quickly adopted by the military.

Let's take a moment and honor Dr. Julian on what would have been his 115th birthday. As we honor legends of our past, let's also remember to honor legends in the making. Here are some of the outstanding students who are destined to leave a mark in history.
 

For the fifth year in a row 100 percent of the graduating class of Urban Prep Academy, consisting of all young men of color is college bound. All 240 seniors are heading to college. According to Urban Prep founder Tim King, these young men have received acceptance letters from over 185 colleges and universities and earned over $11,000,000 in scholarships and grants.

At 16, Alex Dunlap is poised to graduate from Broad Ripple Magnet High School a year early in May. She is one of only 1,000 students in the country to receive the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship. She plans to study Spanish, French and Chinese in college with a focus in Arabic; after which she plans on attending law school. Equipped with a stellar education, Dunlap hopes to fight for the rights of children in foreign countries.

Avery Coffey, 17, has been accepted to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, and University of Pennsylvania. With a 4.3 GPA, this high school senior is poised to graduate from Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, an institution known for its exceptional track record with college acceptance rates. The school has had a perfect track record of 100 percent acceptance for every graduating class since its first in 1984.

Kwasi Enin is a student at William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach, N.Y. The 17-year-old received acceptance letters from Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale. That’s right all 8 Ivy League institutions! Enin also scored 2250 on his SATs, putting him in the 99th percentile.

Stephen R. Stafford II, at the age of 11-years-old was enrolled at Morehouse College. He is a triple major, studying pre-med, mathematics and computer science. Stafford is on track to graduate from medical school at age 22. Notably, Stafford was homeschooled! This is how investing in your kids pays off.

Akintunde Ahmad, who calls himself, ‘a regular street dude from Oakland’s public schools,’ has been accepted to several Ivy League Schools thanks to his 5.0 GPA and 2100 SAT Score. Although some people judge him based on his appearance, (Ahmad keeps a copy of his grades and SAT scores on his phone as proof), he is deciding between Brown and Yale. Yale is trying to recruit Ahmad for its baseball team. That’s right; he’s got brains and athleticism.

Stories like these should be passed on; so spread the word! These are the faces of our future.



I do not claim ownership to the above images.