Celebrating Black History

According to the federal bureau of labor statistics, more than 90% of all aircraft pilots are white males. When looking specifically at commercial airline pilots, estimates indicate that fewer than 7% of them are women with only about 1% are women of color. This lack of diversity is part of a significant challenge for the aviation industry, and it’s one that United Airlines is taking on through a new flight school and an ambitious goal for the next decade. 

Technology is not neutral or objective; it is fundamentally shaped by the racial, ethnic, gender, and social inequalities that exist in society. Though our omnipresent digital technologies can be used as tools for good, their built-in biases can –– and often do –– make these inequalities worse. As society adjusts to the era of artificial intelligence and automated decision-making, recognizing and mitigating these discriminatory practices is critical to ensuring a fair and just Information Age for all. 

Joy Buolamwini is not just a computer scientist; she's a visionary, an artist, and a “poet of code” working to advance justice in the digital age. As the capabilities of and enthusiasm for artificial intelligence advance at a breakneck pace, her work delves deep into the murky depths of algorithmic bias, exposing the hidden prejudices that exist within artificial intelligence systems and advocating for fair and equitable technology. Her experiences as a Black woman in computer science have deeply influenced her work on bias and discrimination in artificial intelligence systems. 

As we continue celebrating Black History Month, we're highlighting another renowned African American STEM leader, NASA scientist Annie J. Easley.

It’s Black History Month here in the United States, a time to educate ourselves on our history and recognize the great contributions that African Americans have made in all facets of life.

Dr. Guion Bluford, otherwise known as “Guy”, first entered space in 1983 on the STS-8 Challenger mission making him the first African American person to even enter space.

Dr. Julian Manly Earls over 40-year career at NASA was filled with firsts for the organization. Dr. Earls, a physicist, was first hired as a physicist for the NASA Glenn Research Center where he was appointed into various leadership positions making him the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) first black section head, office chief, division chief, deputy director, and NASA's second black center director.

February is Black History Month. Capitology Blog is celebrating the contributions of black people in America. In this post, we’re highlighting individuals and organizations that have contributed to various STEM fields.

Lisa Mae Brunson has been committed to providing a space for underrepresented populations in STEM, including women, people of color, and members of the queer community since she noticed the disparity in representation while looking for STEAM speakers for the Wonder Women Tech conference she created in 2015.

Since 1976, February has been known as Black History Month–a month dedicated to celebrating the lives, heritage, and contributions of black people in America.