For Frank T. Joshua Jr., the Path To Success Starts with Hard Work
When Frank T. Joshua, Jr. was young, growing up in New Orleans, his mom knew how to motivate her son. He played sports and “was into everything,” recalls Zolee Thomas, but above all other activities, he loved playing in the band. It became her magic wand. “It was...
Citing the Lack of Diversity in STEM, Dr. Calvin Mackie Calls for a New Approach to Advance STEM Education
Dr. Mackie, a Leading STEM Educator, Warns of Consequences for Communities of Color
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Speaking to medical engineers at the University of Minnesota Institute for Engineering in Medicine, Dr. Calvin Mackie warned conference attendees that America must diversify science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields to ensure that technological advances can benefit populations of color. Calling STEM a “life or death” issue, Dr. Mackie urged medical engineers to help bring more diversity to STEM fields by changing the approach to STEM education. Dr. Mackie, an award-winning mentor, inventor, author, and former engineering professor, said that technology inexplicably hasn’t always worked on people of color.Dr. Mackie believes having more Black and Brown STEM experts working on these issues would help ease the concerns.
Acclaimed STEM Educator Links Marvel’s Black Captain America to the Power of STEM Education
NEW ORLEANS, LA – Dr. Calvin Mackie is the founder of STEM Global Action (SGA), a campaign and network of affiliates that bring science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to children and teenagers in New Orleans, and other parts of the country. As a veteran STEM professional, he sees a strong bond between Marvel’s fictional cinematic universe and the vital role that STEM education plays in propelling children from under-resourced and underrepresented communities into high-paying and sustainable careers.
His brother, New Orleans native Anthony Mackie, portrays Sam Wilson on the Disney+ miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and recently became the first Black Captain America in the Marvel Universe. “As a superhero, Wilson overcomes ferocious enemies and his own doubts about bearing the legacy of Capitan America,” says Calvin Mackie. “He also confronts the concerns of others that no self-respecting Black man should even want to protect America considering its historic mistreatment of Blacks. In real life, my brother has also prevailed against the odds. When we lost our mother growing up, our family banded together and made his dreams come true: Anthony went to acting school.”