1. Hi, I’m Mae Carol Jemison, the first African-American to go into space. I was born on October 17th, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama. My wonderful parents were Charlie and Dorothy Jemison. I grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Since I was a little girl, I had a dream to go into space. Every night I would look up at the stars and make a wish. An event that was happening while I was growing up was the Cold War. It started in 1947. The Cold War was named after the United States, and the Soviet Union. This war was about communism. Communism is when you have the government provide everything, even money. The United States improved good things that made it harder for the soviet Union. The Soviet Union stopped trading with the United States, they lost money from it. In the fall of 1969, I joined Morgan Park High School. I took classes for math, biology, chemistry, and physics. I loved to dance I studied jazz and African Dance. I made up many of our dance routines. Then when I was only 16 years old, I joined Stanford University. I was interested in my African-American culture, but I also wanted to learn about others. During my time in Stanford I heard that NASA opened up to all people. I become a doctor though. For two years I was in charge of health care for the peace corps. I also visited Africa for a while with this job. After I served in the Peace corps, I knew I was well educated enough to go into NASA. I sent out my application, it didn’t get me in. When I sent out my second application I was accepted. There were 2,000 people that sent out an application. There were only 15 of them chosen, and I was one of them. My favorite part of NASA was all the teamwork. Finally in 1989 I was told to conduct a space shuttle called the Endeavour. I was officially the first African-American woman to go into space. In 1992, after the Cold War ended, the Endeavour was set up and ready. 10, 9,8,7, I could feel my heart pounding. 6,5,4,3,2,1 and we roared • upward. While I was in space I took careful notes and made sure I knew what was happening. My dream of touching the stars came true. After I returned, I went back home. Right now I am in Houston, Texas working as a professor for at Cornell University teaching arts and science. Come visit me sometime. I’ll really appreciate that. • Questions: • What was my space shuttle called? • My space shuttle was called the Endeavour • Who were my parents? • My parents were Charlie and Dorothy Jemison • When did the Cold War start? • The Cold War started in1947 • True or false, I was the first African American to go into space? • False, I was the first African American woman to go into space