sem shifts

Pileh Bay, Phi Phi Le, Thailand

Black Beauty | 1901 —- Eva Williams by photographer Joseph Pennell 1901     . 

Since it’s the first day of Black History Month, it seems appropriate that I share this portrait of Marjorie Lee Browne, who was one of the first African-American women to receive a doctorate in mathematics. Quoted from Wikipedia: 

Browne’s work on classical groups demonstrated simple proofs of important topological properties of and relations between classical groups. Her work in general focused on linear and matrix algebra. Browne saw the importance of computer science early on, writing a $60,000 grant to IBM to bring a computer to NCCU in 1960 – one of the first computers in academic computing, and probably the first at a historically black school. Throughout her career, Browne worked to help gifted mathematics students, educating them and offering them financial support to pursue higher education. Notable students included Joseph Battle, William Fletcher, Asamoah Nkwanta, and Nathan Simms. She established summer institutes to provide continuing education in mathematics for high school teachers. In 1974 she was awarded the first W. W. Rankin Memorial Award from the North Carolina Council of Teachers of Mathematics for her work with mathematics education.

I completed this illustration a while back for Women’s Work, a really awesome zine on women - past and present - working in STEM. The project was put together and curated by the wonderfully talented Shannon May and Celine Loup. You can learn more about the zine and see more art here. 

~~ HATTIE McDANIEL ~~ Art by Francesco Francavilla

Actress, Radio Performer, First African American to win an Oscar in 1940. #BlackHistoryMonth #Day9

Time In Between - Fairy Tale Of Russia Frank Herfort

The whole world is frozen in a condition of waiting. The people on these photos seem to be totally absorbed in a deep, paralyzing, enchanted slumber. And we have the uncanny sneaking feeling that this time there is no prince on his way to kiss them awake again. “This moment of life here could go on for ever” remarks Frank Herfort, who photographed his project “Time In Between” in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other places in Russia. The images make a surreal, absurd impression; they raise more questions than they answer. “The storyline, these absurd constellations, develops out of the relationship between the people in the photos and the space around them,” comments the Leipzig born photographer, project.