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OCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS
Select from a range of topics and formats
for your Summer reading, viewing, or listening,
curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee.
DID YOU KNOW? for July 19 – August 1
Did You Know… Matthew Henson was an African American explorer best known as the co-discoverer of the North Pole in 1909 with Robert Edwin Peary. While Peary received much recognition for the accomplishment, Henson, as a black man, was largely ignored in press reports at the time. It took almost 30 years for him to receive the proper recognition.
Born to Maryland sharecroppers in 1866, Henson was orphaned early and had to make his own way. He became a cabin boy on a ship where the captain mentored him in seamanship. Henson was working on land in a hat shop in Washington D.C. in 1887 when he met naval engineer and global explorer Robert Peary. Peary was impressed by Henson’s seafaring credentials and hired him as his valet for upcoming expeditions to Nicaragua, Greenland, and eventually the North Pole.
Visit the Social Justice Webpage for more about Matthew Henson and past DID YOU KNOW? features..
DID YOU KNOW? – spotlighting notable contributions made by non-mainstream individuals you might not have learned or read about. Suggestions for inclusions are welcome (send to Kathy at: ksmichaelis@gmail.com).
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