Black History Month: Inspirational Leaders

Black History Month is a time to bring increased visibility, awareness, and conversation around the contributions of African Americans in the United States from all periods of U.S. history. Today, we are highlighting notable figures who have impacted the agricultural industry. Below are just a few of our inspirational innovators who made impacts in agriculture, sustainability, and climate change research. They have inspired change in communities and paved the way for future leaders who endeavor to feed the world.

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George Washington Carver

1860’s-1943

George Washington Carver is one of the most notable agricultural scientists – the inventor of crop rotation.

Carver developed farming methods that increased crop yield and replenished soil. He taught Black farmers how to tap the land’s abundance.

Carver understood that agriculture and ecology are inseparable, and that land needs crop diversity to thrive and nourish people. 

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Wangari Maathai

1940-2011

Wangari Maathai was the founder of The Green Belt Movement, and the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. 

In Kenya, she recognized intense deforestation practices for building and farming and introduced the idea of community-based tree planting to combat desertification. 

To date, The Green Belt Movement has planted over 50 million trees.

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Dr. Warren M. Washington

1936-Present

Dr. Warren M. Washington is a notable atmospheric scientist  and in 1964, and he developed one of the first computer models of Earth’s climate. 

These models predict future states of the atmosphere have been crucial to understanding climate change and  the role of human activities and natural processes in the Earth’s climate system.

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Dr. Gebisa Ejeta

1950-Present

Dr. Gebsia Ejeta is an Ethiopian American plant breeder and geneticist that has increased the supply of one of the world’s principal grains. He developed the first high-yielding hybrid sorghum plants, resistant both to drought and attack from Striga—a parasitic weed plaguing 40 percent of Africa’s arable land.

By partnering with leaders and farmers across the world, Ejeta personally inspired a new generation of African agricultural scientists that are carrying forward his work.