African American women in science have always labored under the "double bind" of being a woman and a minority in science. To date, limited knowledge exists on the educational experiences of African American Women Chemists We will discuss the establishment of a project to extend the current knowledge base about African American women in chemistry. A look at the history of chemistry reveals much information about white male and even white female chemists. The available information about African American women chemists is harder to find; it is usually listed under African American women scientists. A more intensive search will reveal that Dr. Marie Daly was the first African American woman to receive a PhD in chemistry in 1948. She is noted for her research that preceded the discovery of DNA. It takes true diligence to come up with other African American women who pursued careers in chemistry before Dr. Daly and also other women contemporaries of Dr. Daly and beyond. This is the motivation for establishing this History of African American Women Chemists Project. This will be a multi-media approach for materials for students aged 9-14. We realize that this information should be available in forms other than a book because students at this age are best reached through use of multiple media. We are developing a multimedia program, web site, links to chemistry sites, activities geared toward the science of women chemists and workshops where students, especially girls, can interact with contemporary African American women chemists either in person or via the web by e-mail and chat rooms. This paper will detail our progress to date
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