Celebrating Black History
This month we celebrate the work of two very inspiring women: Madam C.J. Walker and Patricia Bath.

Madam C.J. Walker (Sarah) was born in 1867, to two former slaves, both whom died when she was just a child. After a difficult childhood, and the lynching of her first husband, Sarah's will kept her strong for her and her daughter. While working as a cook and housecleaner, Sarah created home -made hair products for herself and friends. Hair products for Black women were unheard of at the time. But by 1906 Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company was created and during some very difficult times for women she had hired and empowered thousands of women. By 1914 Sarah was worth over a million dollars. In 1919, when she died, the Black community mourned this inspiring woman.

Patricia Bath was born in Harlem, NY, in 1942, during the second world war. It was an uncertain time for all but the black community also had its oppressions. This would not stop Patricia from becoming a top scientist. When she was only 16 she was selected from students across the country to participate in a summer program at Yeshiva University, to do research on cancer. During the program she developed a mathematical equation that could be used to predict the rate of the growth of a cancer. Her findings were published in a scientific paper and Mademoiselle magazine presented Patricia with its 1960 Merit Award. Patricia graduated with honors, from medical school at Howard University in Washington, DC in 1968. In the early 70s, Patricia moved on to New York University where she became the first Black person to complete a residency in ophthalmology. After much research she concluded that Blacks were 8 times as likely to suffer blindness as a result of glaucoma, due to lack of access to ophthalmic care. She promoted out-reach programs and she implored many of her professors to donate their time and perform pro bono services for Harlem Hospital's Eye Clinic. In 1983, she co-founded and chaired the Ophthalmology Residency Training Program at Drew/UCLA. Incredibly her most known invention is the eye laser, called the Laserphasco Probe, which she has patents for in many countries. Now retired, she continues to advocate vision care outreach.
This February we celebrate these two inspiring women!