We love to see Black women make historic achievements!
Forbes previously reported that Black Americans represented only 3% in the physics field and 2% in astronomy. And Astrophysicist Miona Short happens to be among those Black individuals who are not truly represented in the STEM field.
Back in 2018, she made history as the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in astrophysics, according to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s website. The milestone came 100 years after the first Black woman graduated from the university.
“Short came to the UW by way of Walter Payton College Prep, a selective enrollment public high school on Chicago’s affluent near north side where she got the opportunity to participate in research being conducted by astronomers at Caltech,” the website reads.
During the course of the 2018 interview, Short shared she envisioned creating a startup in the hair and beauty space to provide a tool that made it easier to balance studying and the upkeep of your hair. Now, she has put her brainstormed idea into motion.
Short has launched her company Shukrah and the Carefree Comb — a patent-pending wide-tooth comb — according to BLACK ENTERPRISE. The idea initially came to her after the passing of her grandfather, which at the time, left her depressed and with no energy to do her hair.
After saving her own money, the entrepreneur brought her creation to life thanks to learning computer-aided design for seven years. The Carefree Comb, which previously won a grant from Chamillionaire, aims to create efficiency for people with thick, tight coils, and was launched after losing her tech job in 2022.
@helloshukrah Replying to @_NoCelebrity trying to make my life easier 🥳 #naturalhairtiktok #blacktok #blackgirltiktok #hairtok #naturalhairinspo #detanglehair #washdayroutine #easyhairstyles #lazynatural ♬ original sound – voceux
“After being laid off, I knew I didn’t have the money to completely flesh out product development as a bigger company would,” Short said, according to the outlet. “I could barely afford rent, much less afford multiple rounds of testing [contract manufacturer] prototypes with trial and error. That gets expensive real quick. I really only had one shot at making this work. I had to take a leap of faith. So here I am, hoping Shukrah has wings.”
It seems as though Short is on her way to making history with her startup as well, as the outlet details that she plans to ship out pre-orders for the Carefree Comb around Christmas 2023.
