Carver: I am great thank.
Justin: Thank you for letting me interview you today.
Carver okay no problem.
Justin: So my first question for you today is what event in your life might have sparked your interest in science?
Carver: Well Justin something that really sparked my love with science is that i was a slave and that i wanted to show everyone that anyone can be successful it just takes a little hard work. Another reason that i went into science is that i saw that there were many things you can do with useless fruits and vegetables like peanuts and potatoes.
Justin:Oh wow.
Justin: What roles did mentors play in your future?
Carver: didn't really have any mentors except for my mother she encouraged me that someday i can be someone and do something with my life unlike her, she was old and worn out.
Justin: Good thing she wasn't a downer, I wouldn't be that hopeful if i was a slave.
Carver: Ha ha ha yeah she was a tough old gal.
Justin: O.K my third question is what major accomplishments have you gotten?
Carver: some of my major accomplishments are in 1896 i became director of Tuskegee College
1916 Named Fellow, London Royal Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. 1923 Recipient, Spingarn Medal for Distinguished Service to Science. 1928 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, Simpson College.
1935 i was appointed collaborator in the Division of Plant Mycology, U.S. Department of Agriculture and in 1939 Recipient, Roosevelt Medal for Contributions to Southern Agriculture. 1939 Honorary Membership, American Inventors Society. 1941 Honorary Degree, University of Rochester. 1941 Recipient, Award of Merit by Variety Clubs of America. 1942 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, Selma University, Alabama.1938 my life was made into a Hollywood movie.
Justin: Wow that's a lot of awards. Nice job
Carver: Thanks
Justin: My fourth question is how were gender and class roles defined during your time?
Carver: Well woman weren't allowed to do anything but stay home and take care of the kids and the house very little ever went to high school and got diploma. If you were an African American it was even harder to go to school and get a diploma than it was for woman. i was the first and only african American in my school when i went.
Justin:well congratulations on being first African American at your school that is a great accomplishment considering it was in the south.
Justin: Who were some of the music artists that were playing in your time?
Carver: Well Louis Armstrong was a great jazz musician even Duke Ellington was performing music in my time those are two i can think of right now.
Justin: what was the state of knowledge in your field of science?
Carver: well a lot of great discovery's are being made right now but not on fruits and vegetables.
Not much was known about peanuts or any other so called useless things so there was not much background on my studies.
Justin:What were your limitations as a scientist?
Carver: Well Justin one big limitation is that I'm black and it is really hard to get a job and to go to school as a colored person.
Justin: Oh it must have been hard.
Carver:yeah it was i even considered to drop at one point.
Justin: Well I'm glad you didn't or i probably wouldn't have peanut butter.
Justin: What major cultural, economic, and political situations were taking places at the time of your work?
Carver: Well the civil war just ended not to long ago and there was still a lot of racial tension between colored people.
Justin: What were the prevalent philosophical and/or religious beliefs at the time?
Carver: Christianity i would say was the major religion.
Justin: How did the your ideas fit with or differ from the beliefs in the last question ?
Carver: I myself was a Christian and My mother and most of the people i knew were all Christians.
Justin: Well thats all of my 10 questions thanks very much for participating in my interview.
Carver: I am happy to help.
Mr. carver sadly passed away on January 5th, 1943 on the campus of Tuskegee university in Alabama. He will be remembered and honored for a long,long time.
Work cited:
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventors/carver.htm
http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventors/a/GWC.htm
http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/30.html
http://www.lib.iastate.edu/spcl/gwc/bio.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Washington_Carver
http://www.africawithin.com/bios/george_carver.htm
http://www.fieldmuseum.org/carver/highlights.asp
http://www.answers.com/topic/george-washington-carver
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/inventors/page/c/carver.shtml
http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/georgewashingtoncarver.html
http://www.incwell.com/Biographies/Carver,GeorgeWashington.html
http://shs.umsystem.edu/famousmissourians/scientists/carver/index.html
George, I too had mentors growing up. My parents also helped push me to become a better dancer. It is a really good feeling to have the support of your family.
ReplyDeleteOur processes of success were very different. I did not have to go to school to become a dancer, yes I had to take classes, but I didn't have to graduate. Ballet and science are very different and take very different skills.
Jazz is a wonderful type of music. There is also a type of dancing called jazz. We used to listen to jazz as well and dance to it. It is important to explore the artists of your time.
I have been hearing a lot about the Civil War recently. It must have really taken its toll on you, especially sense it was a racial thing. It is good that you pushed through it and got your education.
i found it amazing for a black man yourself to have so many acomplishments.Also to be a director of a college back when to even think about college was a joke.
ReplyDeleteGeorge, my friend, we both struggled, so don't think you're alone. We both worked hard and got where we needed to be. I, like you, never had too many mentors myself. Both of my parents passed and I was in a foster home. I was never in one job for a long period of time, so I never had a steady job. Writing isn't something that was looked upon as a fitting job for someone back then.
ReplyDeleteWe have pretty different creative processes. The biggest being you, a scientist and me, a writer. Also, you had to deal with so much racism. I was a white man back in the 1800s. My race wasn't my issue back then. It was where I was going to find money and be able to support myself. It is so horrible that you couldn't find a job for such a long period of time and wasn't able to support yourself easily just because of the color of your skin.
People in my era, Industrialization, were extremely busy. They were all trying to get jobs in cities because that's where people were getting paid and getting paid anything was better than nothing. People in my era were hard working and very busy. There weren't too many people in my field, writing, that is. That wasn't considered a suitable job for men. I also wrote in a specific style that wasn't too popular, so some of my writing wasn't respected. Also, as a writer, it's very easy to get cheated.
My era made my work very difficult to get published and respected. It was very hard to get paid when you worked as a writer because there weren't too many newspapers and magazines to hire you. My life was very hectic, like yours, but I got through it. You did too, and that's what makes you so inspiring to people. There wasn't too much money lying around for me to get. That's what effected my job. Racism was a big factor in yours.
It was really a pleasure.
Write back.
Edgar Allan Poe.
I wonder what people you knew during your time period thought about you being Black and the director of a college. I think it's good that you worked at the college and I would think that there would be various opinions about that.
ReplyDeletehow are you/ i have wondered if there is any other scientists that you remind me of but you are very individual. i have seen your work and it pleases me to say that i am very impressed. are you into the arts such as music or theater? i love music. have you seen the other scientists such as maybe Edison or meucci?they both very interesting. for me in my time i didn't struggle to much actors weren't payed the best to begin with and after i became very well known i was always well off. the only reason that i see that you might have had a problem would be because of race which doesn't seem to fair to me.
ReplyDelete