Lyceum & Book Club - Week 22 - Benjamin Banneker

Apr 10, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Dec 24, 2022

Benjamin Banneker did not make any major scientific discoveries nor produce any innovative ways of thinking about science.

What he was, was a citizen scientist, mathematician and astronomer. But one that was caught inside the restrictive box of a society that frowned upon a Black man displaying abilities beyond what he was allotted by society. He pushed beyond the limited resources and pathways he had available to him.

I want you to imagine what it must be like to live amongst a population that does not speak your language - the language of math. They do not think as you think - in mathematical terms. Think of how it was for both Banneker and Issac Newton to be born into a conservative rural setting and being part of a farming community where such a mindset put you outside the community, regardless of whether that community was one that loved and accepted you; worse for you if any part of it was hostile to you.

And because of your circumstances, you can not stretch out your wings as far as they can go - whether that inhibition is because of where you live, what your financial or social position is or how society views the demographic you belong to and what restrictions they feel should be placed upon your striving to achieving your full potential. Now imagine how that can affect a person trapped in those circumstances.

We have seen how (and will examine further) being someone who thought differently than the rest of the society they belonged to negatively affected Isaac Newton. But he was given a pathway to achieve his full potential and given full credit and accolades for his achievements. We can see how the same restrictions of being displaced and restricted wore down Banneker because he could not find any adequate avenue no matter how hard he kept flying against the bars of the cage he found himself in. Banneker remained for his whole life a person displaced because of his mathematical mind and intellectual ability.

Videos:

Benjamin Banneker, Astronomer - Biography - 3.02 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpfY66ccoFU

The Exceptional Life of Benjamin Banneker - Rose-Margaret Ekeng-Itua - Ted Ed - 3.36 min

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKnwyVR4P88

Articles:

Biography: Benjamin Banneker

https://www.biography.com/scientist/benjamin-banneker

White House history - Benjamin Banneker

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/benjamin-banneker

Britannica:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-Banneker