As part of the observance of Black History Month at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, we created a handout to honor and remember the many foundational contributions made by Black scientists in food and agricultural research, extension, and advocacy. It is designed to be accessible for elementary-aged children, and our original goal was that CAES staff could use it in their outreach. The Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology asked permission to post it here on the Sustainable Nano blog as well, so I hope it may be of use to the audience here.

Just a few prominent leaders are listed below and in the linked 2-page PDF. Feel free to print and use this handout in your own outreach!

Did you know…

Black & white photo of a distinguished Black man with a moustache

That Charles Henry Turner first discovered that honeybees can see colors and hear?

(image from the W.E.B. DuBois Papers)

That Lloyd Hall, the “Father of Food Preservation,” invented dozens of ways to preserve meat?

(image from the American Chemical Society)

Black & white photo of an older Black man with white hair wearing a suit

That Segenet Kelemu has developed many improved varieties of wheat and barley?

(image by ILRI)

That Eristus Sams was a successful corn breeder known as the “King of Seed Corn” in addition to being a Texas mayor and Senate candidate?

(image by Linnaea Malette)

photo of corn plants with bushy tassels on top

Black & white portrait of a Black man with gray hair and moustache

That George Washington Carver’s discoveries and teaching work helped save many farms from insects and disease?

(image from the National Park Service)

That T.M. Campbell was the first Cooperative Extension Agent in the United States, bringing new techniques to hundreds of farmers?

(image from the National Archives, Maryland )

Black & white portrait of a young Black man looking serious in suit and tie

Black & white photo of a Black woman with curly black hair

That Fannie Lou Hamer founded the Freedom Farm Cooperative in 1969, purchasing prime farmland to empower impoverished sharecroppers?

(image by Warren K. Leffler, U.S. News & World Report Magazine, via the U.S. Library of Congress)

That Henry Blair invented the revolutionary corn seed planter in 1834, and was the second Black American to be granted a patent?

(image by Henry Blair from his patent application)

old-fashioned black truck with a boxy storage

That Fredrick McKinley Jones invented the refrigerated truck in 1940, giving millions of people better access to fresh produce?

(image by Mike Renlund)

That John Boyd Jr. founded the National Black Farmers Association, and has lobbied and sued the government against USDA discrimination?

(image from the NBFA)

Black & white portrait of a young Black woman in a white shirt

That Marie Maynard Daly discovered that cholesterol causes clogged arteries, and was the first Black female chemistry Ph.D. in the US?

(image from the Queens College Silhouette Yearbook)

That Stephen Slade, an 18-year-old enslaved blacksmith, invented the process of flue-curing tobacco in 1839 and spurred the North Carolina economy?

(image by Pollinator)