by Dr. Michael Maxwell

Our World has been Changed

Our world has been changed by someone whose formal education didn’t begin until he was 20 years old. In another instance, someone who couldn’t afford medical school in America, ushered worldwide medical change. And yet, in another chapter from history, our world was impacted by someone who was encouraged from an early age, to build, create and innovate.

The names of  Carter G. Woodson, Dr. Charles Drew, and Mark Dean,

African Americans whose accomplishments influence our daily lives

should be known by every adult and child, in America and around the globe. 

Carter G. Woodson

Black History Month, started by Carter G. Woodson was instrumental in awakening Americans to facts & history that most hadn’t been educated about. Woodson knew, against the backdrop of racist denial and mis-education, the achievements of African Americans needed to be, rather, had to be, shared. His formal education started as a late teen; he’d go on to earn a high school diploma, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, and was the second African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, only behind W.E.B. Dubois. He founded scholarly organizations and led the work to highlight black historical contributions to civilization. In 1926, he founded Negro History Week,  which would later become Black History Month, and increased the collegiate study of Black historical contributions dating from many thousands of years ago to the present. Woodson’s creation has influenced the study of black historical contributions globally. His creation influenced us all to realize that Black history is everyone’s history.      

Dr. Charles Drew

Another African American with world-wide impact is Dr. Charles Drew. His scholarship, perseverance, and intellect led to the storage of blood plasma, and blood banks, making blood transfusions possible. He created blood banks to save lives in Britain during World War II, for the American Red Cross, and to save the lives of American soldiers. Dr. Drew left the blood banks he created during the WWII era when confronted by military leadership who forced racism into his humanitarian efforts. They required that blood donated by whites and African Americans could only be used for their respective racial group. White for white and black for black. I wonder what they did with blood from folks who didn’t belong to either group? Dr. Drew made other notable achievements when he went back to Howard University’s department of surgery, as a professor and surgeon. I donate blood regularly. I don’t know who will receive my blood but, I know it helps save lives. Every time I make a blood donation, I think about Dr. Charles Drew and the millions of lives world-wide that have been saved by the use of his work.

Mark Dean

Bringing African American History to the present, here is an African American man whose name should be mentioned along with the famous computer teams of Gates & Allen, or Jobs and Wozniak. When we think of Microsoft, Apple and IBM’s personal computers, we know they can be found on almost any location on our planet. If you don’t remember anything else about Mark Dean, remember that this African American computer engineer and inventor has “three of nine PC patents for being the co-creator of the IBM personal computer”. He led the development of the ISA bus. I’ll skip the tech jargon. Just know that gamers couldn’t game without the creation attributed to his intelligence, talent and leadership. If you recall the reason Carter G. Woodson created African American History Month, Mark Dean is an example of the need for it. Mark Dean is only in his sixties; his photos are in color, his creations are in the present, he is living African American history who should be acknowledged and celebrated now.       

24/7/365

These are African American men responsible for creations that impact our lives, our loved ones, and nearly every community. Carter G. Woodson, Dr. Charles Drew and Mark Dean are only three of an innumerable amount of black historical figures who have made contributions to humanity over many millennia and on six of the seven continents (I don’t know about Antarctica). They are examples who model intelligence and leadership who should’t be reserved for the 28 days in February but, amplified and celebrated 24/7/365. 

Dr. Michael Maxwell is a career educator. He is currently the Executive Director for Acelero Learning Clark County Head Start in Las Vegas. Find him onLinkedIn-Michael Maxwell, Ed.D; Twitter or IG-@DrMikeMax