The work and pioneering done by Black Americans has historically gone unrecognized across many areas/fields, including science. Black Americans make up 12% of the US population and have experienced the most disadvantages and setbacks in education than any other group in the country. For this reason, it is believed that there are not many Black scientists or Black people in STEM of note; however, this is not true historically nor in the present day. The work of Black scientists has led to discoveries that have changed our understanding in areas including health, space travel, public safety and more. Many of these Black scientists faced the added challenge of navigating racism, discrimination and segregation, on top of the challenging work they accomplished . These individuals defied all doubt, prejudice and other obstacles in their way to make ground breaking discoveries that help us learn more about the world and prove how vital Black scientists’ contributions in STEM are. Here are...

Conversations about the STEM field always seems to include rhetoric of how there is a lack of diversity. And while that has been true for many years, today there are thousands of scientists, mathematicians, and engineers who work everyday to make valuable contributions to their industries. One such individual is Kelly Cross, Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Nevada Reno. Cross is one of 1,000 Black men and women named as the most “Inspiring Black scientists in America.” The list was culminated by a Community of Scholars at Cell Mentor, an online resource for career advancement in STEM. According to Cell Mentor, the list was created to debunk the idea that there is only a small percentage of Black scientists in the scientific community and “remove the bleach” from our history books. “Growing up, I didn’t know any scientists or engineers, and during my entire engineering education, I never had a Black female professor. I want fewer students to make that...