Ashanti Johnson

Ashanti Johnson (previously Ashanti Johnson-Pyrtle) is an American geochemist and chemical oceanographer. She is the first African American to earn a doctoral degree in oceanography from Texas A&M University. Quotes The principle of ‘lift as we climb’ was instilled in me by my parents I tell them, ‘let’s hear what your goal is, and let’s figure out how to get you there We encourage students to have two plans: sports AND academics …teaching kids to swim. A lot of poor kids, young people of color… they just never learn to swim. In the US, it’s a legacy of segregation, where Black people weren’t allowed in public pools, were prevented from going and swimming at many beaches, and so if that generation doesn’t learn to swim, they can’t teach their kids to swim and they maybe can’t afford swimming lessons or don’t prioritize it. I think that’s a really concrete one. And that has led to Black kids being at a much higher risk of drowning than white kids, because they just don’t have the opportunity to build those skills. That’s something that I think about a lot and is something that probably many people who are tuned in today could help with, and it would be really fun!” … remember that because this work is so hard, because it is a lifetime of work, we can also pursue it in a way that is joyful. External links