Education
Meet the First Black woman to Earn a PhD in Aerospace Engineering
THE WESTSIDE GAZETTE — An African lady has become the first Black woman to get a doctorate degree in aerospace engineering.
By Carma Henry
An African lady has become the first Black woman to get a doctorate degree in aerospace engineering.
The talented lady is said to be a national aeronautics and space administration whiz. 30-year-old Wendy Okolo has achieved a lot in her career.
African is slowly becoming known for producing geniuses who almost always break barriers in their several industries.
Born to a family of six, her career took off at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a United States agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.
According to her biography on NASA, she achieved both her bachelor’s degree and doctorate degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2010 and 2015 respectively. Okolo was only 26 years old when she became the first Black woman to get a doctorate degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.
But, Okolo had been making waves even before then. During her undergraduate years, she was in the African Student Society at the University of Texas at Arlington. She was also the president of the Society of Women Engineers at the university. According to her Linkedin account, she also interned at Lockheed Martin working on NASA’s Orion spacecraft. She first worked in the requirements management office in systems engineering and then with the Hatch Mechanisms team in mechanical engineering.
After graduating, Okolo accepted a job as a summer researcher from 2010 to 2012 in the Control Design & Analysis Branch at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base.
According to The Cabel, Okolo talked about her experience piloting the world’s fastest manned aircraft which flies from coast to coast in 67 minutes. “I was like I’m sure these guys are so smart, what am I going to bring to the table. I was given an assignment to correct an error in a code system which I did and that momentarily ended the impostor syndrome.” Now she’s an Aerospace Research Engineer at the Ames Research Center, a major research centre for National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Silicon Valley.
We are only in the second month of the year, and the lady has won the BEYA Global Competitiveness Conference award for the most promising engineer in the United States. Okolo lists her sisters, Jennifer and Phyllis, as her heroes. She revealed that they taught her biology and other sciences.
Community
AG Bonta Says Oakland School Leaders Should Comply with State Laws to Avoid ‘Disparate Harm’ When Closing or Merging Schools
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter this week to the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Board of Education saying the district has a duty to comply with state education and civil rights laws to protect students and families from “disparate harm,” such as segregation and discrimination, if the district goes ahead with school closures, mergers or consolidations in 2025-2026.
AG Bonta said DOJ investigation of 2022 closure decisions would have negatively impacted Black and low-income families.
By Post Staff
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sent a letter this week to the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) Board of Education saying the district has a duty to comply with state education and civil rights laws to protect students and families from “disparate harm,” such as segregation and discrimination, if the district goes ahead with school closures, mergers or consolidations in 2025-2026.
The letter and an accompanying media release announced the findings of the California Department of Justice’s (DOJ) investigation into the OUSD Board’s Feb. 8, 2022, decision to close Parker Elementary, Brookfield Elementary, Carl B. Munck Elementary, Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy, Grass Valley Elementary, Horace Mann Elementary, and Community Day School and eliminate grades 6-8 of Hillcrest Elementary and La Escuelita Elementary.
“All school districts and their leadership have a legal obligation to protect vulnerable children and their communities from disparate harm when making school closure decisions,” said Attorney General Bonta.
“The bottom line is that discrimination in any form will not be tolerated,” he said. “I am committed to working with OUSD’s leadership to achieve successful outcomes for students.
“My office will continue to monitor OUSD’s processes and decision-making as it moves forward with the required community engagement, equity impact analysis, and planning to implement any future closures, mergers, or consolidations” to ensure compliance with California’s Constitution, AB 1912, and anti-discrimination laws.
By press time, the school district did not respond to a request for comment from OUSD.
The DOJ’s findings showed that the February 2022 decision, later partially rescinded, would have disproportionately impacted Black and low-income elementary students, as well as high-need students with disabilities, according to the media release.
The Attorney General outlined concerns about criteria OUSD has announced that it may rely on to determine future closures, mergers, and consolidations and provided recommendations to ensure OUSD does not violate state law, including prohibitions against closure decisions that reinforce school segregation or disproportionately impact any student group as required by the State Constitution, AB 1912, and anti-discrimination laws.
According to AB 1912, passed in September 2022, financially distressed school districts contemplating school closures, mergers, or consolidations must engage the community before closing schools; conduct an equity impact assessment; and provide the public with the set of criteria the district plans to utilize to make decisions.
In the letter, DOJ identified a “problematic” approach to planning for closing schools in 2025-2026 and “strongly recommends” steps OUSD should take going forward.
- “Take affirmative steps to ensure that its enrollment and attendance boundary and school closure decisions alleviate school segregation and do not create disproportionate transportation burdens for protected subgroups.”
- Don’t solely utilize criteria such as school facilities’ conditions, school operating costs, and school capacity without also including an assessment of past and present inequities in resources “due to educational segregation or other causes.”
- Some of OUSD’s proposed guidelines “may improperly penalize schools serving students with disabilities and students who have high needs.”
- The district’s decisions should also include “environmental factors, student demographics and feeder attendance patterns, transportation needs, and special programs.”
- Avoid overreliance on test scores and other quantitative data without also looking at “how each school is serving the needs of its specific student body, especially as it relates to historically marginalized communities.”
- “Engage an independent expert to facilitate community input and equity impact.”
The letter also emphasized that DOJ is willing to provide “feedback and consultation at any time during the process to ensure that OUSD’s process and outcomes are legally compliant and serve the best interests of the school community and all of its students.”
Art
Marin County: A Snapshot of California’s Black History Is on Display
The Marin County Office of Education, located at 1111 Las Gallinas Ave in San Rafael, will host the extraordinary exhibit, “The Legacy of Marin City: A California Black History Story (1942-1960),” from Feb. 1 to May 31, 2024. The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.
By Post Staff
The Marin County Office of Education, located at 1111 Las Gallinas Ave in San Rafael, will host the extraordinary exhibit, “The Legacy of Marin City: A California Black History Story (1942-1960),” from Feb. 1 to May 31, 2024.
The interactive, historical, and immersive exhibit featuring memorabilia from Black shipyard workers who migrated from the South to the West Coast to work at the Marinship shipyard will provide an enriching experience for students and school staff. Community organizations will also be invited to tour the exhibit.
All will have the opportunity to visit and be guided by its curator Felecia Gaston.
The exhibit will include photographs, articles and artifacts about the Black experience in Marin City from 1942 to 1960 from the Felecia Gaston Collection, the Anne T. Kent California Room Collection, The Ruth Marion and Pirkle Jones Collection, The Bancroft Library, and the Daniel Ruark Collection.
It also features contemporary original artwork by Chuck D of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame group Public Enemy, clay sculptures by San Francisco-based artist Kaytea Petro, and art pieces made by Marin City youth in collaboration with Lynn Sondag, Associate Professor of Art at Dominican University of California.
The exhibit explores how Marin City residents endured housing inequities over the years and captures the history of plans to remove Black residents from the area after World War II. Throughout, it embodies the spirit of survival and endurance that emboldened the people who made Marin City home.
Felecia Gaston is the author of the commemorative book, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home: The Story of World War II Marinship and the Legacy of Marin City.’ Thanks to the generous contribution of benefactors, a set of Felecia’s book will be placed in every public elementary, middle, and high school library in Marin.
In addition, educators and librarians at each school will have the opportunity to engage with Felecia in a review of best practices for utilizing the valuable primary sources within the book.
“Our goal is to provide students with the opportunity to learn from these significant and historical contributions to Marin County, California, and the United States,” said John Carroll, Marin County Superintendent of Schools.
“By engaging with Felecia’s book and then visiting the exhibit, students will be able to further connect their knowledge and gain a deeper understanding of this significant historical period,” Carroll continued.
Felecia Gaston adds, “The Marin County Office of Education’s decision to bring the Marin City Historical Traveling Exhibit and publication, ‘A Brand New Start…This is Home’ to young students is intentional and plays a substantial role in the educational world. It is imperative that our community knows the contributions of Marin City Black residents to Marin County. Our youth are best placed to lead this transformation.”
The Marin County Office of Education will host an Open House Reception of the exhibit’s debut on Feb. 1 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m.. All school staff, educators, librarians, and community members are encouraged to attend to preview the exhibit and connect with Felecia Gaston. To contact Gaston, email MarinCityLegacy@marinschools.org
Community
The Year Ahead: Assembly Speaker Rivas Discusses Priorities, Problems
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas shared his legislative priorities and vision for the future of California during a luncheon hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in downtown Sacramento.
By Antonio Ray Harvey, California Black Media
Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas shared his legislative priorities and vision for the future of California during a luncheon hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in downtown Sacramento.
Titled a “Conversation with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas” for PPIC’s 2024 Speaker Series on California’s Future, the 44-year-old Democrat lawmaker from Hollister, who represents the 29th Assembly District, is the 71st speaker of the Assembly.
The discussion at the Sheraton Hotel took place about two weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom presented his $291 Billion January budget proposal.
“These are going to be difficult times,” Rivas said of the task of balancing a budget that has been estimated separately by the Department of Finance and Legislative Analyst’s Office to have a deficit between $38 billion and $68 billion. “It’s going to underpin everything we get done this year. It’s going to impact everything.”
PPIC’s Speaker Series on California’s Future allows “leaders, lawmakers, and changemakers with diverse perspectives to participate critically, constructively, and collaboratively in public conversations,” according to PPIC.
PPIC president and Chief Executive Officer Tani Cantil-Sakauye was the moderator of the 60-minute discussion that about 200 guests attended.
Rivas said right after he was sworn in as the Assembly leader that among his top priorities are mental and medical wellness, public safety, affordable housing, homelessness, education, the state’s entry-level scientists’ wages, and climate change.
He added that his goal is to focus on both urban and rural areas across the state, including improving public services and infrastructure. He explained that wildfires, flooding, droughts, and agriculture productivity are additional concerns.
Rivas shared that legislators should have goals of “addressing critical issues” that lead to “progress, affordability, and improving day-to-day” quality of life for all residents in California.
“These issues are consistent across the state. I prioritize no region over the other,” Rivas told Cantil-Sakauye, the former chief justice of the California Supreme Court.
During the question-and-answer portion of the conversation, Michael L. Younger, the Vice President of Workforce, Strategy, and Innovation at Calbright College asked Rivas about how the state can help individuals with workforce training and achieve labor success without relying on traditional colleges and university.
“(I am) speaking to those who may not see themselves on the college track but also have value to society,” Younger asked Rivas.
In his response, Rivas said the labor force needs individuals with work training skills, especially with the rise and usage of artificial intelligence.
“The need to have that transition can’t come soon enough but at the same time we have a responsibility to train displaced workers,” Rivas said.
Carmen-Nicole Cox, director of Government Affairs for American Civil Liberties Union – California Action, asked the Speaker would he accept the “community’s invitation” to take a public health approach to addressing public safety rather than one that criminalizes, demoralizes and focuses on incarceration.
Rivas responded to Cox’s question by explaining that an impartial evaluation of public safety should be made initially before providing a resolution.
“Our approach to addressing public safety is to, first, listen, to be fair throughout our process and to find solutions. Does that include addressing public health? Absolutely,” he said.
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