Black History Month Movie Week

I teach primarily African American students at an inner city charter school in a rusted, forgotten city.  Being that February is Black History Month (insert Chris Rock joke about February being the shortest month of the year), I try to inspire my students with two films that portray the struggles of African American scientists in the tumultuous segregation era America of the early twentieth century.  It's not always easy for science teachers to find good movies with relevant science content, and I thought I'd share with you two of my favorite films that I show to my students during Black History Month.

Something the Lord Made

Originally produced for and aired on HBO, Something the Lord Made tells the inspirational story of Vivien Thomas, a pioneer of open heart surgery who fought discrimination and persevered, finally receiving credit for his work years after its completion.  Hip hop star Mos Def plays Vivien Thomas in the film, which, in my opinion, was a pretty genius casting move considering that most of my kids pay attention to his time on screen as they recognize him as something more than just another Hollywood actor.  The story follows Thomas' adult life and his fortunate meeting of Dr. Alfred Blalock, played by Alan Rickman, who recognizes the talent in Vivien and trains him in routine surgical procedures.  Vivien Thomas improves upon Blalock's methods, and eventually, they perform the first open heart surgery to correct Tetralogy of Fallot, also known as Blue Baby Syndrome.  The movie details Thomas' struggle for equal rights and the recognition he deserved for his groundbreaking work with Dr. Blalock.

I show this movie a week or two after I wrap up the Circulatory System.  It's good to let that information sink in for a little while to familiarize the students with some of the vocabulary in the movie (aorta, vena cava, veins, arteries, etc.).

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Percy Julian - Forgotten Genius

This two-hour long NOVA special originally aired on PBS and is available on DVD.  It tells the life story of Dr. Percy Julian, an underappreciated giant in the field of Natural Products Chemistry.  Born in 1899 in Montgomery, Alabama, Percy Julian battled discrimination throughout his career and played an instrumental role in the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-twentieth century.  Dr. Julian synthesized organic compounds in his laboratory that were naturally produced by plants, widening the doors of the burgeoning American pharmaceutical industry.  Amongst his greatest achievemnts, Percy Julian mimicked the natural synthesis of cortisone, progesterone, alpha protein, physostigmine, and stigmasterol, driving down the cost of production and increasing the availability of these industrially and medically important compounds.  No stranger to discrimination as a young man growing up in the Jim Crow era South, Percy Julian's skin color prevented him from receiving the accolades, benefits, and prosperity reserved for the white men who followed his trailblazing path.  Unrecognized and unrewarded for his efforts, Julian set out on his own path, establishing his own company that eventually turned out to be the American Dream when he became a self-made millionaire.  His story of struggle and success is told in docudrama format, with Ruben Santiago-Hudson of Lackawanna Blues playing the role of Percy Julian in the cinematic sequences.

Though I do not get to organic chemistry until later in the year, I show this film and have the students take notes based on several categories.  They use their notes to construct a timeline of the events in the film and write a reflective essay on their movie watching experience.  It takes a few days to show the movie, and February usually provides a brief lull before I make the Big Push and accelerate my curriculum to its completion.  I use my lab periods to show the movie and the kids stay fairly engaged, though they start to lose interest toward the end as it is a two-hour documentary and they have the attention span of gnats.

Buy Percy Julian Books and DVDs at Amazon!

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Get them from Netflix!