Meet Charles S. Parker, an unsung yet trailblazing Black scientist who
made major contributions to the fields of botany (the study of plants)
and mycology (the study of fungi) in this inspiring STEM/STEAM picture
book biography.
In 1882, Black botanist and mycologist Charles S. Parker sprouted up in
the lush, green Pacific Northwest. From the beginning, Charles's passion
was plants, and he trudged through forests, climbed mountains, and waded
into lakes to find them. When he was drafted to fight in World War I,
Charles experienced prejudice against Black soldiers and witnessed the
massive ecological devastation that war caused. Those experiences made
him even more determined to follow his dreams, whatever the
difficulties, and to have a career making things grow, not destroying
them.
As a botanist and teacher, Charles traveled the United States, searching
for new species of plants and fungi. After discovering the source of the
disease killing peach and apricot trees, Charles was offered a job at
Howard University, the famed historically Black college where he taught
the next generation of Black scientists--men and women--to love plants
and fungi as much as he did.