Black women are charting historic paths in spaces where they are significantly underrepresented. Amongst this generation of trailblazers is Aliyah Griffith who recently became the first Black student to earn a graduate degree in marine sciences from the University of North Carolina, the Daily Tar Heel reported.
Although diversity is a crucial component of innovation and progress within STEM, the industry is plagued by racial and gender disparities. Studies show 2.5 percent of marine biologists are Black. Griffith is using her journey to show people of color that there’s room for them in the space.
The scholar developed an interest in aquatics as a youngster following a trip to Sea World at the age of five. Throughout her childhood, she visited marine parks and aquariums. After connecting with a dolphin trainer at the Baltimore Aquarium, she decided she wanted to pursue a career in marine biology.
Staying true to her passion, Griffith went on to study marine sciences at Hampton University. After earning her undergraduate degree, she went on to advance her education at UNC; becoming the first Black student to be accepted into the school’s marine sciences program which has been in existence for 50 years.
Beyond the classroom, Griffith has been dedicated to increasing representation within environmental science. In 2016, she merged philanthropy and STEM education to create a nonprofit dubbed MahoganyMermaids centered on introducing Black youth to aquatic sciences. She is also a part of UNC’s Black Graduate and Professional Student Association and Initiative for Minority Excellence.
For Griffith, her presence in the industry is about ensuring individuals who look like her see themselves reflected in marine biology. She is currently working on exploring coral conservation in Barbados, her family’s native country. “Our research and our expertise deserves to be heard,” she shared in a statement. “Being able to give back to the community in the island that my ancestors are from and be a part of keeping history, as well as helping the future of the island, is something that you feel like you can’t really know, unless it’s that close to home.”
With her historic milestone, Griffith joins a collective of brilliant Black women who have broken barriers in academia. Last year, University of Texas at Arlington graduate Lindsay Davis became the first Black student in the school’s 126-year history to earn a doctorate in chemistry.
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Source: ANDREW HARNIK / Getty UPDATED: 9 a.m. ET, March 8, 2022 Originally published: March 1, 2021 The month of March is recognized as Women’s History Month and is dedicated to the celebration of everyday women, as well as pillars and pioneers whose accomplishments have allowed for following generations to feel empowered to constantly break barriers. But neatly tucked within Women’s History Month lies International Women’s Day, which is celebrated annually on March 8. And by NewsOne’s humble estimation, both celebratory observations far too often overlook the accomplishments of Black women, in particular, who have been achieving the unthinkable for centuries. MORE: Happy Women’s History Month! 10 Photos Of Powerful Woke Women Today, this month and forever, NewsOne is highlighting a select few of these Black women and their amazing and incomparable feats that continue to reveal themselves in “historic firsts.” https://twitter.com/adv_project/status/1501190507577360386?s=20&t=cRVD6EhWrn8rFqKX0le7rw And while this list would obviously be incomplete without the inclusion of Kamala Harris — the first woman and Black woman to be vice president and the highest-ranking woman in the history of American government — her impressive accomplishments are among dozens of other achievements that Black women have steadily been realizing for many decades. https://twitter.com/staceyabrams/status/1501173153422262274?s=20&t=cRVD6EhWrn8rFqKX0le7rw Unlike Women’s History Month — which began in 1980 when former President Jimmy Carter issued the first Proclamation, which declared the week of March 8, 1989, as National Women’s History Week — International Women’s Day dates back more than a century. In March of 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, proclaiming March as Women’s History Month. https://twitter.com/tiannathewriter/status/1501126767691636739?s=20&t=cRVD6EhWrn8rFqKX0le7rw “Throughout history, women have driven humanity forward on the path to a more equal and just society, contributing in innumerable ways to our character and progress as a people,” said former President Barack Obama in his 2016 Women’s History Month Presidential Proclamation. “In the face of discrimination and undue hardship, they have never given up on the promise of America: that with hard work and determination, nothing is out of reach. During Women’s History Month, we remember the trailblazers of the past, including the women who are not recorded in our history books, and we honor their legacies by carrying forward the valuable lessons learned from the powerful examples they set.” https://twitter.com/womensart1/status/1501096583869480962?s=20&t=cRVD6EhWrn8rFqKX0le7rw Obama continued, “Because of the courage of so many bold women who dared to transcend preconceived expectations and prove they were capable of doing all that a man could do and more, advances were made, discoveries were revealed, barriers were broken, and progress triumphed. Whether serving in elected positions across America, leading groundbreaking civil rights movements, venturing into unknown frontiers, or programming revolutionary technologies, generations of women that knew their gender was no obstacle to what they could accomplish have long stirred new ideas and opened new doors, having a profound and positive impact on our Nation.” https://twitter.com/KilanBishop/status/1501171245592817666?s=20&t=cRVD6EhWrn8rFqKX0le7rw Keep reading to find our curated list of Black women pioneers in history as well as the present day.
Black Marine Sciences Scholar Makes History At UNC was originally published on newsone.com
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