By Miriam Shams-Rainey, J.J. Pearce High School

Long before I knew her as a grassroots activist or the fierce leader of local progressive organization Funky East Dallas Democrats, I knew her as “Ms. Jill”. My mother first met her at a bookstore for a meeting supporting the non-profit Save Darfur, and I met her a few months later when I accompanied my mother to an event that they were hosting. We handed out water bottles along a bike path and collected donations, and before long she was calling me “dahling” in her feigned posh accent and becoming a permanent part of our extended, chosen family.

Jill Cochran had a passion for activism from the beginning, but as a stay-at-home mother to three children — Jimmy, Johnny, and Lizzie — and a loving wife to her husband Jim, it wasn’t her full-time focus. A graduate of Southern Methodist University’s Master of Liberal Studies program with a focus on human rights and political science along with a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Texas, Cochran was involved in human rights efforts such as UNICEF and Plan International well before she first delved into politics. Working with UNICEF and Plan, her family established clinics and innovative development projects in a village in Togo where her husband had previously worked with the Peace Corps, fortunate in their ability to donate generously to these causes.

I’ve always known Cochran as a philanthropist, and her generous heart and idealist nature led her to associate herself politically with the Democratic Party, describing her politics as “very progressive.” She is passionate about ensuring anyone and everyone has a fair shot in life, something that few would have expected from her, considering her background as a cisgender, heterosexual, wealthy white woman, but that I have grown up knowing as a part of her. She was actively involved in former President Obama’s 2008 campaign and worked some with Annie’s List leading up to the 2016 election to support Victoria Neave, a Democratic challenger who unseated Republican incumbent Kenneth Sheets in the most expensive Texas House of Representatives race of the 2016 cycle (Holter).

However, despite this involvement, Cochrane, like many Democrats leading up to the 2016 presidential election, felt that there was minimal need to even campaign against Republican challenger (and current president) Donald Trump. “I think people kept telling me there was no way Trump could win, and I would listen to that…” Cochrane recollected just over two years later, sitting cross-legged on a brown couch in my living room, “[And as a result,] I didn’t do the [sic] block walking or any of that kind of stuff for [Hillary Clinton].”

This lack of action quickly gave way to grief as the election results started to roll in on November 8, 2016. As the night trailed on, the energy in the Omni Hotel ballroom in downtown Dallas, where the local Hillary Clinton election watch party was being held, slowly diminished like a candle whose oxygen was cut off. I remember taking pictures of Cochrane and her family with a cardboard cutout of Clinton, all of them clad in their red and blue “I’M WITH HER” t-shirts and “VOTE DEMOCRATIC” buttons when the night was still young, and when we still believed that despite having taken so little action to prevent the actual outcome, progressive values in America would still come out on top.

The next time I saw Ms. Jill after election night, she had cut her hair short and was convinced that she was going to up and move to Costa Rica. Fed up with American politics, she was ready to forget it all, and travel hundreds of miles from her home in Dallas to start a new life in Central America. However, it was the prospect of progressive resistance that eventually prompted her to stay. Hearing about the Women’s March, in the midst of all of the distressing news of Trump’s election, was a turning point that brought her out of her funk and put her on the path she follows today. She recollects, “[News of the Women’s March] brought me hope. And I thought to myself ‘okay, maybe I don’t move to Costa Rica. Maybe I stay here and try and fight this.”

From this newfound resolve emerged Cochrane’s involvement in local grassroots organizations, first an East Dallas offshoot of Pantsuit Nation, a progressive organization originally started on Facebook, which she eventually climbed to become a co-chair of, and then East Dallas Votes, an organization of her own making. East Dallas Votes came out of the notion that not enough voters in the Dallas area were registered and that registering new voters would lead to increased votes for Democratic candidates.

Cochrane tells stories over dinner of this era of her activism, in which she and fellow East Dallas Votes members stood outside DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) stations to catch people on their way to and from work to register to vote. This approach was seldom effective and led to some rather amusing interactions, but also to a lot of frustration on Cochrane’s part as she was forced to reexamine what it was that she could do to make an impact, to tip the political scales towards progressive values.

The product of this reexamination, along with the prodding of the Dallas County Democratic Party, was the Funky East Dallas Democrats, also known as the FEDDs, a youthful, quirky progressive organization covering an area from I-75 to 635 and around to I-30, right in the heart of East Dallas. The Dallas County Democratic Party approached Cochrane along with a few other prominent local Democrats and posed the idea for a Democratic club in the area, something that they happily obliged.

However, the county office was quickly surprised when this group began organizing on an incredible level, starting block walks, filling empty precinct chair positions, and overall uniting East Dallas in favor of Democratic ideas and candidates in ways that had never been done before in this area. Many were surprised by this newfound political energy in the area, questioning why the FEDDs didn’t just meet and discuss things. Looking back on this earlier questioning, Cochrane recounts, “We were asked ‘Why aren’t you doing what every other club does? Why don’t you just meet?’ Well, we don’t want to just sit here and complain … What we’re going to try to do is change things. And the way to change it is to talk to your friends and neighbors and finding out [sic] that there are other like-minded people out there.”

From this questioning, the FEDDs only grew, and soon they skyrocketed in membership from their initial 33 members in 2017 to over three thousand in March of 2019. Part of what makes the FEDDs unique is their philosophy and their dedication to research, to have full command of the election data they are presented with. When tasked with starting this new organization, Cochrane spent many late nights pouring over voter statistics in Dallas county, Texas, and the country as a whole to gain a better understanding of the reasons that Democrats had not been successful in recent elections. The conclusions she came to were, at the time, radical, but have been proven through her organization’s success.

“Texas is not a red state. Texas is totally a blue state,” Cochrane asserts. “It’s just that for whatever reason Democrats have felt like their vote doesn’t matter, their vote doesn’t count. I think that we’ve all believed the rhetoric that Texas is a red state, we’re a red state, we’re a red state. We’ve all believed that all along but when you really look at it when Democrats vote, Republicans lose.”

But how does one increase Democratic voter turnout in an area where Democrats have been told again and again that their efforts are useless? To tackle this problem, the FEDDs turned to grassroots action: they block walked; they held phone banks; they hosted candidate meet-and-greets, and they laced up their boots or their high heels and got to work. One of their most far-reaching efforts, the Precincts United Mobilization Plan (also known as PUMP), created contacts in each of the precincts or voting districts that the FEDDs serve to connect the people of these neighborhoods to progressive voting resources, events, and opportunities to volunteer. It has really transformed East Dallas from a place where politics weren’t talked about to a united Democratic stronghold, something clearly seen in more recent voting data.

Although Dallas did vote for Hillary Clinton with a 60.22% majority in the 2016 election according to numbers from the Dallas County Elections Department, the Democratic energy in the area was stunningly low, with Texas House District 32 Democrats not even fielding a candidate to oppose controversial Republican politician Pete Sessions. When a challenger rose up in the 2018 cycle, football player-turned civil rights lawyer Colin Allred, the FEDDs knew they had to do what they could to help him and other progressive candidates make it to the White House. Dallas county is notorious for having low voter turnout in midterm elections, and in general, hence Cochrane’s assertion that Texas is more of a non-voting state than a red Republican state.

So, the FEDDs focused intensely on “get out the vote” efforts to mobilize people to vote, and on giving voters a chance to meet and connect with the politicians running to represent them. At a FEDDs meeting in August, Allred came to speak, and the room at the back of the Mexican restaurant that Cochrane had reserved for the talk was filled to the brim, and many people stood in the back of the room so more could fit. The majority of these people were fellow East Dallas Democrats who wanted to hear Allred speak and to connect with their fellow Democrats. The FEDDs provided them space and a place to make these connections, and with the information to make an informed and empowered decision in the voting booth as a Dallas progressive.

When the 2018 midterm elections finally rolled around, Cochrane and the FEDDs couldn’t help but wonder if they had done enough, if they would be able to tip the scales in Dallas county, especially in tenuous races like that between Colin Allred and incumbent Pete Sessions. They spent their days on election day at polling booths greeting voters, preparing for election watch parties, and trying their best not to dwell on their insidious anxiety.

Election results finally started to trickle in late that Tuesday evening. While my mother and I mourned the loss of a close race in Collin county’s 3rd congressional district by Democratic challenger Lorie Burch, a candidate who we had helped to support, Cochrane spent her evening rifling through election statistics at Colin Allred’s watch party. Finally, as the results showed the outcome, Cochrane began to celebrate. Allred had won his election. And so, did Nathan Johnson. And Victoria Neave. And John Turner. And a laundry list of other progressive candidates in the East Dallas area. It was a major victory for the FEDDs, who are regarded as a large part of why this large-scale Democratic victory was able to take place. Cochrane texted us that night from Allred’s watch party, “Colin won! We did it!” Her pride radiated into the room even through the phone.

Another major victory for the FEDDs was less evident until a few days later when the full voting results were released. Dallas county’s incredibly low voter turnout in the 2014 midterm was significantly improved in the 2018 cycle. From a turnout of 34.02% of registered Dallas county voters in 2014 to 54.64% in 2018, the rise in turnout was meteoric and is an incredible testament to the impact that the FEDDs have had on their community. These numbers came close to even beating voter turnout for the 2016 presidential election (59.42%), which typically gets around 20% more turnout than midterms.

In my mind, Cochrane was always a philanthropist, and I can’t imagine that she’s voted for a Republican once in her life. But I never imagined her becoming a champion for voter rights and engagement, civil rights, and an end to the climate crisis (all things covered in the FEDDs’ Representative Accountability Teams, tasked with tracking bills on certain issues and advising our representatives accordingly). As a white, wealthy stay-at-home mother for several years, Cochrane was easy to stereotype as someone who would turn her nose up at grassroots activism, at knocking on doors or calling her neighbors to support candidates and values she believed in. I even stereotyped her in this way myself, and still cannot believe how wrong I was.

Although 44% of white, college-educated women may have voted for Donald Trump in the 2016 election and although white women are often looked at as a scourge to political activism, Cochrane has shown me a version of events in which white women are ready and willing to stand with those who stand against oppression and to take charge when needed. Although the face of progressive grassroots activism across America may look pretty different, one of Dallas’s strongest progressive activists comes in the form of a wealthy white woman from the White Rock Lake neighborhood, and I think that says more than I ever could about Cochrane and her evolution.

Bibliography

Clement, Scott, and Emily Guskin. “2016 Election Exit Polls: How the Vote Has Shifted.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Nov. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/2016-election/exit-polls/.

Holter, Rick, and Gus Contreras. “Dallas’ Victoria Neave On Winning An Election On A Challenging Night For Democrats.” KERA News, 11 Nov. 2016, www.keranews.org/post/dallas-victoria-neave-winning-election-challenging-night- democrats.

“Historical Election Results (Resultados Históricos Anteriores).” Dallas County, TX Elections, www.dallascountyvotes.org/election-results-and-maps/election- results/historical-election-results/#Election.

Pickett, Steve. “Grassroots Efforts Helped Dallas-Area Democrats On Election Night.” CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, CBS Dallas / Fort Worth, 7 Nov. 2018, dfw.cbslocal.com/2018/11/07/grass-roots-dallas-democrats-election-night/.

Shams-Rainey, Miriam N. “Jill Cochran Interview.” 19 Mar. 2019.

The Funky East Dallas Democrats. The Funky East Dallas Democrats, 2019, funkyeastdallasdemocrats.com/.

The Evolution of Jill Cochran: From Stay-at-Home Mother to Grassroots Activist was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

By Sara Cockrell, Bryan Collegiate High School

Merriam Webster Dictionary defines religion as “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith” (Merriam). Most people define it as “the service and worship of God or the supernatural” (Merriam). While Christianity technically fits both definitions, it defines better as a relationship, “the way in which two or more people or things are connected, or the state of being connected” (Oxford). Christians and their God undergo a very personal connection. They believe God came down to the green and blue Earth which He created and that a virgin gave birth to him. He lived as Jesus and performed miracles and preached God’s commands. Then, Roman soldiers crucified him, creating a terribly painful death.

Miraculously, however, he rose three days later, appeared to several eyewitnesses, and ascended to Heaven at the right hand of God. Interestingly, no other religious leader claimed or claims divinity, which separates Christianity from other religions. “He was presenting himself as the only avenue to a relationship with God, the only source of forgiveness for sins, and the only way of salvation” (McDowell). By the Christian God coming to Earth as Jesus and dying on the cross, He committed the greatest act of love; “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (New International Version, John 15:13). No other god or gods died or will die, for their people.

Regardless of the validity or invalidity of its beliefs, Christianity impacted, and impacts, the world, and individuals. In a 2015 study, the total world population comprised of 0.01 billion Jews, 1.8 billion Muslims, and 2.3 billion Christians (Hackett). In addition, it also included a little over 8.2 million Jehovah’s Witnesses (2015). Adding those together, out of the 7.2 billion people in 2015, over 4,118,200,000 believed that there lived a real person named Jesus, regardless of their interpretations of him. This matters because this impacts over half of the world’s population directly, and the other half indirectly. Christianity affected and provided science, education, the American Government, quality of life, economics, a scapegoat, and individual people.

First of all, Christianity throughout history majorly influenced academics. Dennis Kennedy, a pastor, and Jerry Newcombe, a film writer, both “argue that science has its roots in Christianity.” They claim that other worldviews and beliefs believe either “the physical world is an illusion” or that everything “is fatalistically determined.” Science could not advance from illusion or fatalism. Christianity, however, derives from the idea that “there exists a rational God who is the source of rational truth;” thus, this possibly led to scientific laws (The Impact).

Moreover, Julius Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist, and Alfred Whitehead, a mathematician and philosopher, both insist that “modern science could not have been born except in a Christian” environment. Isaac Newton, Louis Pasteur, Johannes Kepler, and so many more pioneering scientists identified as a Christian. The scientific revolution started in the West and not in the East for a reason: Christianity.

Another academic influence includes the education system. Think of how “100 of the first 110 universities in America were founded for the express purpose of propagating the Christian religion,” universities such as Princeton, Yale, and more. Also, consider that the Puritans had a literacy rate of 95% (Williams). In fact, the first law requiring education happened because the Puritans passed it. The “emphasis on the written word” represents a major part of Christianity (The Impact). Many of the academic opportunities in the world today may owe its thanks to Christianity.

Secondly, Christianity impacts the American government. For example, the idea of equality and human rights find their roots in the Biblical notion that God created all people in his image, just like it says in the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (US 1776)

All 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence belonged to and identified as at least one of the branches of Christianity (Religion). Apart from this, however, the American currency reads, “In God we trust,” the Pledge of Allegiance states, “one nation under God,” and the Star Spangled Banner proclaims, “In God is Our Trust.” On another note, the concept of the judicial, legislative, and executive branches comes from Isaiah 33:22 which states that “the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King” (New International Version, Isaiah 33:22). America’s foundation on Christian beliefs is so evident and clear.

Moreover, Christianity influences the value and quality of life. A person without faith in something bigger than themselves is left with no hope, and without hope, what can a person strive for in life? For Christians, though, they believe in a divine being that loves them and they believe that they will see their Creator again one day. This hope keeps them alive, looking forward to tomorrow. From 2007 to 2014, the suicide rate increased from 11.3% to 13% (Suicide).

Within that same time frame, Christianity declined from 78.4% to 70.6% (America’s). Indeed, as Christianity waned, the amount of suicide and suicide attempts intensified. Granted, while it is not a causation, there is still a correlation. Furthermore, God calls Christians to forgive other people just as Christ forgives them. Unforgiveness can negatively affect the mental health of a person. “Unforgiveness is often a core component of stress,” which leads to a decrease in the psychological state of a person. Also, unforgiveness causes an increase of “guilt, shame, and regret that in turn negatively impacts one’s mental health” (Handbook).

Likewise, according to the Cigna U.S. Loneliness Index, “loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, making it even more dangerous than obesity.” This survey of 20,000 Americans proves that 43% always or sometimes lack companionship, 46% always or sometimes feel alone, 54% always or sometimes feel as though no one really knows them, and 36% always or sometimes feel like “there is no one” to turn to (Cigna).

Yet, God calls Christians to forgive others and live in fellowship with one another. Several verses in the Bible emphasize the importance of social interactions between people: 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 10:25, Ecclesiastes 4:9–12, Proverbs 27:17, Matthew 18:20, and many more. After all, God created Eve so Adam would not live life alone.

Next, Christianity impacted the world economically by creating capitalism. Certain ideas, such as the “protection of private property, freedom of enterprise, and freedom of expression” are crucial to capitalism. Capitalists believe “the government’s role should be solely” to protect the people and ensure their freedoms (Kowalczyk). The right to own private property arises from Deuteronomy 5:21 which states, “You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (New International Version, Deuteronomy 5:21).

In addition, 2 Timothy 2:6 reveals, “The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops,” which provides an example of Protestant ethic (New International Version, 2 Timothy 2:6). Protestant ethic defines as the idea that a person’s success should come from hard work. Capitalism “emerged in the west” and was “helped along” by the Protestant ethic (Wood). This economic system proves effective as from 1970 to 2006, the global poverty rate declined by 80%. Another example includes that from 1990 to 2013, the mortality rate decreased 49% among children 5 years of age and younger (Brandler).

However, an important distinction must “be made between Biblical capitalism and evolutionary capitalism.” Evolutionary capitalism finds its foundations on the idea of “survival of the fittest,” while Biblical capitalism focuses on the “importance of servanthood — a key teaching of Jesus” (The Impact). In the end, people alone matter.

Moving on, Christianity impacted the world negatively by providing a scapegoat. In several instances, people have taken advantage of Christianity by performing terrible things in “Christ’s name.” For example, racism and slavery in America seemed to “be seeded in scripture”, according to Nineteenth Century Christians. While the Bible demonstrates neither, people claimed that “God” told them to act and create these problems. One of the main issues encompasses people taking scripture “grossly out of context” and perverting it, consequently misrepresenting Christianity (Monge).

Likewise, “the violence and barbarism of the Crusaders gave Christianity a bad name.” The actions that took place during the Crusades were not Christ-like or Biblically backed up at all. Forcing people to convert, conquering land in Jesus’ name, violence, and other actions are not advocated by Christianity (Crusades). Racism, slavery, and the Crusades, all terrible things that people seem to blame or relate Christianity too, in no way properly represent what the Christian faith stands for.

Lastly, Christianity affected individual people. For example, Acts 22 in the Bible talks about Paul the Apostle’s testimony. It describes how he persecuted and murdered Christians. Then one day, this bright light blinded him. He could not see anything but heard Jesus tell him to go complete what God called him to. When his companions carried him away, a man named Ananias gave his sight back and told him to go be baptized. Saul became Paul and received salvation that day. He would go on to write the majority of the New Testament books, proclaiming God’s word. When he met Jesus, Paul transformed into a Christian, the same type of person that he used to kill and torture. Another example includes Lee Strobel’s testimony.

Strobel — a skeptical atheist, a husband, a father, and an editor for the Chicago Tribune — one day hears his wife tell him that she decided to become a follower of Jesus Christ. In hopes of rescuing his wife and their marriage, he sets out to explore and debunk Christianity. The more he dove deeper into the evidence, the more he realized that “it would require more faith for him to maintain his atheism than to become a Christian” (Lee). He goes on to write The Case for Christ, published in 1998, which became a movie in 2017. Among other publications, he and his wife continue to be strong in the faith and their marriage.

Christianity influenced several aspects of life including academia, culture, the value and quality of life, economics, scapegoating, and several individuals. This religion and relationship influence various people in various ways. C.S. Lewis once said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important” (Good). Despite people’s different interpretations, Christianity affected and still affects billions of people around the world.

Bibliography

“America’s Changing Religious Landscape.” Pew Research Center, 12 May 2015, pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/. Accessed 22 Jan. 2019.

Brandler, Aaron. “5 Statistics Showing How Capitalism Solves Poverty.” The Daily Wire, 18 Mar. 2017, dailywire.com/news/14525/5-statistics-showing-how-capitalism-solves-poverty-aaron-bandler. Accessed 23 Jan. 2019.

“Cigna U.S. Loneliness Index.” Cigna, 2018, multivu.com/players/English/8294451-cigna-us-loneliness-survey/docs/IndexReport_152 4069371598–173525450.pdf. Accessed 22 Jan. 2019.

“Crusades.” All About God, allaboutgod.com/crusades-2.htm. Accessed 13 Feb. 2019. “C.S. Lewis > Quotes > Quotable Quote.” Good Reads, goodreads.com/quotes/26465-christianity-if-false-is-of-no-importance-and-if-true. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.

Hackett, Conrad and David McClendon. “Christians remain world’s largest religious group, but they are declining in Europe.” Pew Research Center, 5 April 2017, pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/05/christians-remain-worlds-largest-religious-group-but-they-are-declining-in-europe/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

Handbook of Forgiveness. Routledge, 2005.

Kowalczyk, Henryk A. “Capitalism, Socialism and Communism.” Huffington Post, 10 Nov. 2016, huffingtonpost.com/henryk-a-kowalczyk/capitalism-socialism-and-_b_8523486.html. Accessed 23 Jan. 2019.

“Lee Strobel’s Testimony: An Atheist Investigates Christianity.” Washed Red, washedred.com/content/?contentID=47. Accessed 24 Jan. 2019.

McDowell, Josh. More Than a Carpenter. Living Books, 1977.

Merriam Webster Dictionary. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019. Monge, Jordan. “Christianity, Slavery, and Evil Done in the Name of Christ.” Fare Forward, 20 Feb. 2015, farefwd.com/2015/02/christianity-slavery-and-evil-done-in-the-name-of-christ/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2019.

Oxford Living Dictionaries. oxforddictionaries.com/definition/relationship. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

“Religion Affiliation of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.” Adherents, adherents.com/gov/Founding_Fathers_Religion.html. Accessed 22 Jan. 2019.

“Suicide.” National Institute of Mental Health, nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml. Accessed 22 Jan. 2019.

The Bible. New International Version. “The Impact of Christianity.” Faith Facts, faithfacts.org/christ-and-the-culture/the-impact-of-christianity. Accessed 23 Jan. 2019.

Williams, Jimmy. “The Social and Historical Impact of Christianity.” Probe, 27 May 2000, probe.org/the-social-and-historical-impact-of-christianity/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

Wood, Ellen Meiksins. The Origin of Capitalism. Verso, 1999. “2015 Grand Totals.” Jehovah’s Witnesses, jw.org/en/publications/books/2016-yearbook/2015-grand-totals/. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.

The Right Conditions was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

By Kelly He, A&M Consolidated High School

Malala Yousafzai once said, “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world”. Indeed, she proved that statement to be true. Her passion on the women’s education movement as a tool for liberation is groundbreaking as she lives in an area of conflict and turmoil where women had been oppressed for generations and lacked access to healthcare, education, employment and much more. Her bravery supported others when her society was designed to tear her down. Her movement inspired people around the world for courage, endurance, and compassion.

Born in 1997 in Swat Valley, Pakistan, where, by default, a girl is seen as less valuable than a boy, Malala grew up during a time of extreme conflict with an unstable government and rising opposition forces. Malala’s father, a private school owner, was determined to give her every opportunity that a male would have. Malala was fortunate enough to have the privilege to attend school. But the school did not last long and was dramatically taken away from her at the age of eleven. Taliban, a terrorist organization, took over the country, stationed military troops to watch over the villagers, and enforced brutal regulations on the Pakistani and especially the women. Malala was forced to leave her school after the Taliban controlled her town. While boys’ schools remained open, the Taliban closed more than 200 girls’ schools in Pakistan.

After months of being away from her school, her education, and her community, Malala could no longer stand by in silence in the face of injustice. Malala, furiously, “Speaking out on behalf of education for girls. Wanting, with all her heart, to go to school” (McAuliffe, 2012). Malala championed that girls have the same opportunities as boys for education and school is a symbol of equality because it is the foundation for any child’s development. Malala understands that she must fight but not succumb to violence and emotional attacking despite growing up in an environment of brutality.

Named after Malalai of Maiwand, a female national folk hero of Afghanistan who rallied local fighters against the British troops at the 1880 Battle of Maiwand, Malala was destined to make a change and become a leader. Malala sought a peaceful solution to the problem and fearlessly fought without hurting others by standing out publicly against the Taliban multiple times. Malala was a symbol of the kindness, resourcefulness, bravery, and courage of the people of Pakistan.

Realizing the profound impacts of social media communications on our lives and the world around us, Malala fought her voice of equal rights to women who had been silenced for too long via communication tools. In January 2009, Malala launched blogging under a pseudonym about education for the BBC Urdu website. Malala recognized the necessity to communicate with others about her own situation and shared with the world about the injustice and suffering happening in the Swat Valley. She protested on her own to the world so powerfully without much-needed resources. She realized that communication technology makes words globally influential with easily accessible resources. It opens a transformative channel of open-minded communication that is instantaneous without any biased political, authority and governmental controls, particularly from those who want to conceal.

Malala’s blogs became really popular and spread quickly like wildfire around the world. Many individuals, organizations and government agencies were deeply touched by Malala’s story and lent much-needed support and resources to her movement. Malala was no longer alone fighting the battle by herself; she was on the side of the thousands around the world following her blogs. The Taliban tried but failed to silence Malala, who had become Pakistan’s most celebrated supporter of girls’ education.

Women were no longer silenced. With the power of freely sharing information, Malala was a trailblazing women’s rights advocate. Her blogs were like influencer amplifiers and spread her stunting messages and courage to people around the world. People were shockingly moved by the unbelievable situations that many girls were going through in Pakistan. As an active and popular BBC blogger, Malala has become increasingly renowned. With the Pakistani army moving back into Swat Valley, most of the Taliban was forced out of the region and the Taliban’s control got substantially weakened. Malala was able to return to her father’s classroom.

Despite knowing the constant retaliation from the Taliban, Malala still persistently and publicly campaigned for girls to go back to school. Her bravery, courage, and movement rewarded her Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize in 2011. However, as Malala’s fame rose, so did her negative reputation with the Taliban. The increasing influence of Malala’s fight for women’s rights angered the Taliban and provoked them to kill Malala. In a surprising turn of events in 2012, when Malala was getting out of the school, a masked Taliban gunman shouted “Who is Malala? Speak up!

Otherwise, I will shoot you all!”. Malala bravely stood up- recognizing the need to protect those around her. Malala was shot in her head and her two friends were wounded. Fortunately, Malala survived a deadly Taliban bullet in her skull after treatment in England with the help of the British government. Malala’s journey from near-death attack to recovery did not dissuade Malala from giving up her passion to fight for girls’ education. She always knew that her work was dangerous, but she knew that the fight for women’s education is a cause that is much bigger than herself.

Instead of giving up, Malala came back from the recovery with an even stronger passion to fight for women’s education. The Taliban soldiers tried to change “[Malala’s] aims… [but] nothing changed in [her] life except…[that] hopelessness died, strength, power, and courage [were] born” (Johnston, 2013). Malala’s experience, bravery, and movement received more recognition and attracted more people around the world to join her fight for women’s education. These further aggravated the Taliban’s intention to silence and murder Malala. However, Malala was fearlessly determined and persisted in giving a voice to other girls for the right to education. Malala’s actions planted the seeds for world-wide battles for girls’ education.

To help more young children gain access to education, Malala started the Malala Fund in 2013. Over 130 million girls between the age of 6 to 17 worldwide are out of school to work, take care of younger siblings, or just because the rights of education were taken away from them. The Malala Fund is dedicated to “fighting to give back to girls what poverty, war and discrimination tried to take away” (https://www.malala.org/). The Malala Fund ensures young girls to twelve years of free and safe education.

This fund is to provide financial supports of girls’ education to disadvantaged places around the world. The organization also delivers the stories of other young people who are fighting for a right to education and inspires young girls for changes. The Malala Fund represents women oppressed by religion, misogyny, and gender segregation, and shows other young girls’ story of “girls [being] neglected, denied education, physically mistreated, [and] sexually abused…” (https://www.malala.org/). This fund also empowers young girls around the world to fight for what they believe in and keep going to school. Not only does Malala make a change, but she inspires others to make one too.

Malala also wrote several books, including Malala’s Magic Pencil, a children’s book to inform the young generation about her situation and I Am Malala, to spread her story out to the public. Her protests help spark equal women’s education around the world. Because her fearless advocacy for human rights and women education, Malala received many notable awards, including the Sakharov Prize, Glamour Award, Mother Teresa Award, Shorty Award for Teen Hero, Simone de Beauvoir Prize, UN Prize in the field of Human Rights, Ambassador of Conscience Award, and Goodreads Choice Award.

Most notably, Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize for her wanting of young people for the right of education in 2014. However, Malala is a true hero not because she got shot, nor because she won the Nobel Peace Prize. She was a hero before she was famous- when she fearlessly fought for the right to women’s education in her hometown; when she made all the determined efforts so that she could tell the world about the injustice and suffering happening in the Swat Valley; when she started her blog to educate others on what was going on around the world.

Despite facing many extreme challenges and dangers, including the deadly shooting, Malala’s passion for her cause inspires her to keep fighting and moves the world for human rights and women’s education. Malala’s story goes far beyond herself. As a young woman, Malala is a leader that touched the lives of people around the world and inspires everyone for courage, endurance, and compassion.

Bibliography

Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Responding to Malala — The Chronicle of Higher Education, Oct 29, 2012

Ian Johnston, Malala Yousafzai: Being shot by Taliban made me stronger, NBC News, Jul 13, 2013

Malala Yousafzai & Christina Lamb, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, October 8, 2013

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai https://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253 https://www.malala.org/malalas-story https://www.britannica.com/biography/Malala-Yousafzai https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/yousafzai/facts/

Malala’s Movement: An Inspiration for Courage, Endurance, and Compassion was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This is the eighth year the University of North Texas’ Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference has teamed up with the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum and Biographers International to offer this prestigious opportunity to young writers.

The Young Spurs writing contest is open to U.S. high school and community college students, between 14–20 years old as of the entry deadline.

Students who enter their work to the Young Spurs contest have a chance to win complimentary registration and accommodations to the three-day Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference on July 19–21, 2019, in Grapevine, Texas. A complimentary registration and accommodations also will be awarded to their teacher/mentors. A small travel stipend may be available.

Young Spurs will attend a half-day workshop on Friday, July 19, critiquing their winning entries and will spend the rest of the weekend attending lectures and panel discussions.

Mahima Das, Lexington High School, profile of “Esther Ledeberg: A Forgotten Genius”

Robert Dohrman, College Station High School, “Beto O’Rourke:Political Genius or Unrealistic Dreamer”

Anya Galvan, Bryan Collegiate High School, “Vera Rubin: The Path to Changing the World”

Dante Kirkman, “Clarence “Skip” Ellis — The First Black PhD in Computer Science”

Lauren Moore, “The Ghana Empire: Forgotten Flourishment”

Shiva Saravanan, A&M Consolidated High School, “The Unsung Genius of John Von Neumann”

Valeri Sevilla, Bryan Collegiate High School, “An Expected Genius — Dmitri Mendeleev”

Maite Tovar, Bryan Collegiate High School, “The Gift of Failure — Nikola Tesla”

Lizette Vela, Bryan Collegiate High School, “Underestimating Marilyn Vos Savant”

Andrew Zhang, A&M Consolidated High School, “Malala: The Revival of Nation, Mind and Spirit”

What is the Young Spurs Writing Contest? was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

By Andrew Zhang, A&M Consolidated High School

Technologically sophisticated and modern schools, with running water, plumbing, and electricity to boot, are unfathomable for those living in the developing country of Pakistan. Here, education is plainly and simply a privilege. Learning seldom takes place in an ideal environment — classrooms take the form of any sort of object that can shield students from the elements, oftentimes objects like trees. Schooling and education in remote villages are oftentimes limited to individuals who have the resources needed to fund and education and believe that such intellectual education is integral to an individual’s development — two attributes that are seldom juxtaposed.

To make education more of a privilege in Pakistan is the Taliban, banning the education and schooling of young girls across the lands under which they have control. One woman, in particular, is famous for living in the midst of this education-depreciative culture — Malala Yousafzai.

While the murder attempt on her brought in the worldwide spotlight on her actions, Malala’s storied development as an activist began long before the treacherous act. She was born in a home in Northern Pakistan, her family unable to afford the hospital fees that came with having a baby. While she grew up, her parents continually stressed the importance of her having an education — her father oftentimes taught her himself.

Malala’s beginnings in educational activism were unknown to those around her; her activism stemmed from her role of anonymous blogging on BBC Urdu, where she explained in detail the suppressive conditions of under the reign of the Taliban. More specifically, she described the experiences she — a young girl — had while attempting to gain an education. During her early days of blogging, the Taliban issued an edict that banned the education of young girls in Swat — the region of Pakistan that the Taliban controlled in which Malala lived. In entry after entry, she painstakingly explained her oppression — documenting repeated nightmares of the Taliban attempting to kidnap her and powerlessly watching as the Taliban destroyed and shut down school after school. One of the most harrowing entries came on February 8, 2009, where she described wistfully staring at the tools of education that have been left unused:

I am sad watching my uniform, school bag and geometry box. I felt hurt on opening my wardrobe and seeing my uniform, school bag and geometry box. Boys’ schools are opening tomorrow. But the Taliban have banned girls’ education. (Yousafzai, Malala. “Moving”)

Eventually, the Taliban militants and the local government reached a peace deal, and accompanying the peace deal was the lifting of the educational edict, which allowed girls like Malala to go back to school. Malala accentuates that spirits appeared to be looking up, as “helicopters [didn’t] appear frequently” anymore and her and her classmates “played a lot in class and enjoyed” themselves as they did before the edict (Yousafzai, Malala. “Malala Yousafzai Full). While she soon stopped blogging, her social activism had only just begun.

Unfortunately, the social climate took a downward turn as the Taliban eventually retook Swat, forcing Malala and her family out of the region while violence ensued. During this period of turmoil, Malala was approached by New York Times journalist Adam B. Ellick, who produced alongside Irfan Ashraf a half-hour documentary on the perils of women under the reign of the Taliban. The film, “Class Dismissed,” contains cuts of videos filmed during the time, as well as the portrayal of Malala. This documentary, coupled with the Taliban’s oppressive control during the time, thrust Malala into unfortunate limelight. She received a multitude of threats against her life as a result of her newfound recognition. In her book, Malala details the grim atmosphere she lived in as a result of these looming threats.

We had been getting threats all year. Some were in the newspapers, some were notes or messages passed on by people. My mother was worried about me, but the Taliban had never come for a girl and I was more concerned they would target my father as he was always speaking out against them. (Yousafzai, Malala. I)

Her increasing recognition as an education activist women drew attention — she won the inaugural Pakistan Youth Peace Prize among many other recognitions. However, the attention was not all positive; as she became increasingly recognized, her risks of an encounter with the Taliban subsequently increased as well. The next major event in Malala’s life drastically changed her life, pushing her into the international spotlight.

On October 9, 2012, Malala had finished an exam over the formation of Pakistan and was pondering over her answers while she rode a van home with some of her friends. As they were en route home, the van passed through a road over a short hill, an area that usually teems with activity. While passing through, Malala noted the eerie emptiness and quietness of the scene. The short moment of serenity was broken when two men stepped onto the road and stopped the van and boarded it. “Who is Malala?” — the last words Malala heard before nothingness.

While in a coma from being shot, she underwent several surgeries and was flown from Pakistan to the United Kingdom. When she eventually woke from her coma, she had already become a household name as her story was talked about all over the globe. People took to Twitter and other social media platforms to disseminate their anger over the situation, which in turn brought much-needed international attention to the issue that Malala sought to bring change towards in the first place.

Just over two years later, Malala found herself in a very different situation: accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. In her acceptance speech, she illustrated her fundamental beliefs as a human and her dreams for the future of the world:

I really believe in peace. I really believe in tolerance and patience and it is very important for the progress of both countries that they have peace and they have good relationships. This is how they are going to achieve success and this is how they’re going to — they are going to progress. (Yousafzai, Malala. “Malala Yousafzai — Nobel”)

While she noted various failings of the world that she believes have the potential to change in her illustrious speech, her words, though shrouded in modesty, also bring to light many of her desirable characteristics — her uncompromising view on education and equality for all and her drive to accomplish that goal as well as her persistence in both aspects. Furthermore, her characteristics fulfill the generalized requirements of many glorified titles, that of a leader, revolutionary, and genius.

Even though she exhibits an unwavering persistence towards her core beliefs, she does so unyieldingly in her personal grace and humanity. This is exemplified in an interview she had with Jon Stewart on the Daily Show:

But then I said, ‘If he comes, what would you do Malala?’ then I would reply to myself, ‘Malala, just take a shoe and hit him.’ But then I said, ‘If you hit a Talib with your shoe, then there would be no difference between you and the Talib. You must not treat others with cruelty and that much harshly, you must fight others but through peace and through dialogue and through education.’ (Yousafzai, Malala. Interview)

Malala recounts a moment in which she realized that she would not even attack the Talib, as doing so would make her no more justified than he is. She philosophizes peace and that true change can occur through productive dialogue and education. Malala’s ability to advocate for change while doing so in a manner of grace differentiates herself from many others who are at the helm of social change — she thinks critically and introspectively about all her actions, and how they could affect the message she attempts to spread.

Even under the threat of warfare and violence, she made an effort to go to school and learn every day, even as the number of her classmates attending dwindled. Today, her goal of education for all is emulated through the Malala Fund, an education foundation dedicated to making sure over 100 million girls around the world have access to 12 years of education. The foundation’s core philosophy lies in the story of Malala — “If one girl with an education can change the world, what can 130 million do?”

In an address she made to the United Nations nine months after the murder attempt on her, Malala gives a bit of insight to her view on the power of education and why she is so passionate about making sure everyone has this opportunity. She talks at length about the endless list of terrible happenings in the world — the attempts of the Taliban to oppress education by killing teachers and bombing schools, but also the war-torn environments of countries like Nigeria and Afghanistan — and calls upon world leaders to dedicate themselves to help solve these problems. To conclude her speech, she reiterates the only solution, the thing that she has fought for her entire life as an activist — education.

Malala’s insistence on the fundamental need of education and her perseverance in instilling and spreading education in young boys and girls across the world reveal the talents and abilities in her that can easily classify her as a genius. Beyond this classification, we can view Malala as a strong and empathetic leader, unwavering and true to her principles and beliefs of world peace and education, driving attention towards the lack of education where it — and change — is most needed.

Throughout her life and to this day, Malala asserts the life-changing nature and necessity of education. It has the ability to change the way you see the world, and how you perceive yourself. It allows Malala and her classmates to realize the truly harrowing nature of the Taliban, and anyone who acts to put barriers to education. It allows all humans to realize the change we have the ability to make when we use our voice. And it allows all humans to possess and develop this voice.

Without education, the world — the world fraught with violence and hate — will never have the ability to change. And without Malala, we would be multiple steps behind a goal of spreading this education to all.

Bibliography

Ellick, Adam B. “Documenting a Pakistani Girl’s Transformation.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Oct. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/world/asia/the-making-of-Malala.html?pagewanted=all.

“Genius.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2011. Web. 7 March 2018.

Yousafzai, Malala. I AM MALALA: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2014.

— -. Interview by Jon Stewart. The Daily Show. Comedy Central. 10 Oct. 2013. Television.

— -. “Learning for 12 Years. Leading without Fear.” The Malala Fund, www.malala.org/.

— -. “Malala Yousafzai Full Diary For BBC (Gul Makai).” Malala Yousafzai Blog, 27 Oct. 2012, www.malala-yousafzai.com/2012/10/Malala-Diary-for-BBC.html.

— -. “Malala Yousafzai — Nobel Lecture.” Nobel Prize, 10 Dec. 2014, www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2014/yousafzai-lecture_en.html.

— -. “Moving Moments from Malala’s BBC Diary.” BBC News, BBC, 10 Oct. 2014, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29565738.

Malala: The Revival of Nation, Mind, and Spirit was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

By Mahima Das, Lexington High School

Today, cuisses de grenouille, or frogs legs, are regarded as a French delicacy. The crispy, sauteed legs slathered in a creamy buttermilk sauce offer a stark contrast to the frog’s legs Esther Lederberg ate. Because money was extremely tight, the sliced, slimy frog remnants from student dissections made up most of Lederberg’s meals. As a female teaching assistant at Stanford University, Lederberg was paid a measly salary that barely covered living expenses. Still, it was a job that allowed her to pay for her Masters Degree in Genetics, and for that, she stayed. Although her situation was far from ideal, Lederberg’s dedication to her studies, curiosity, and willingness to challenge social norms make her one of the most brilliant women of the 20th century.

Born as the oldest child to a poor Bronx family, Esther Lederberg was a child during the Great Depression. Her father was born in Sereth, Bukovina– modern-day Romania– and opened a print shop in the Bronx. Lederberg’s school lunches consisted of a single slice of bread with the juice of a tomato squeezed on top. One particular day, as a rare treat, her parents told her that they were going to have steak for dinner. Lederberg had never heard of steak before, and in her excitement, told her friends she was having snake for dinner that night. Steak, which might have been familiar to a middle-class family at the time, was entirely foreign to her. This highlights the adversity Lederberg overcame in order to reach success. Yet, throughout her entire life, Lederberg would never let her financial bearings stop her from achieving who she aspired to be: a strong female scientist and an inspiration for other young women.

Lederberg attended Evander Childs High School and, as a testament to her one-of-a-kind brilliance and intelligence, graduated when she was only sixteen. From there, Lederberg went to Hunter College, where she initially intended to study French or Literature. Yet, much to the horror of her professors, she studied biochemistry instead. Her professors tried to convince her that a woman had no place in the scientific world, but she stuck firmly to her decision. This was the first, but definitely not the last time Lederberg would face an obstacle as a result of her gender. At that time, social norms meant that men would go to work while their wives would stay at home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. People thought there wasn’t room for women in the workplace, especially in the field of science.

Yet, Lederberg continued to push for roles that females typically didn’t receive. This unrelenting dedication allowed her to take advantage of opportunities that weren’t readily offered to her. She went on to receive a Masters in Genetics from Stanford University and later began working as a research assistant at the Carnegie Institute of Washington. There, she worked with Alexander Hollaender and Milislav Demerec, investigating the genetics of bacteria in order to make penicillin more effective. In 1944, Lederberg published her first paper, one of the few papers for which she received proper credit as a co-author. While working on UV and x-ray mutations in the production of penicillin, she was awarded a fellowship to Stanford University. Two years later, after receiving her Masters, Lederberg married Joshua Lederberg, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, who would later be awarded most of the recognitions Esther Lederberg should have received.

Esther Lederberg believed that her gender had nothing to do with what she could accomplish. Through this mindset, she was also working to dispel the common notion that women weren’t as capable as men. Unfortunately, most of the people in her time disagreed. Her husband, who was three years younger than her and had less experience at the time, founded the Department of Genetics at Stanford University. Esther Lederberg was denied a position in the same department as a female faculty member, as was a female colleague. They were forced to petition a dean of the university and were reluctantly given the position, but only because they agreed to being untenured.

This unfair treatment did not discourage Esther Lederberg from continuing to pursue the science that she loved.

It only meant that she had to work twice as hard to be awarded the same privileges that the men in her field received so easily. Even with all of the hindrances she faced, Esther Lederberg left an indelible mark in the field of microbiology. For one, she was the first individual to isolate the bacterial virus lambda phage. The specific cycles of lambda phage have been crucial for scientists to gain insight into gene transcription. Additionally, her observations of the bacteriophage in agar solution led to an understanding of specialized transduction, a process in which DNA is introduced into a cell through a virus.

Another one of Lederberg’s discoveries was replica plating. While there were many existing ways to reproduce bacterial colonies, she found the most efficient method. Interestingly enough, it came from a very simple, but ingenious idea. Lederberg used a simple velveteen fabric to duplicate bacteria. She was very particular in the fabric she used, specifying a certain type of Italian velveteen, as well as the best detergent to wash the fabric. From this discovery, she and her husband were able to prove the origins of mutants with key adaptive advantages. This exact method of replica plating is used in labs even today, another example of how influential her contributions are. Around the same time, Esther Lederberg made yet another significant discovery. She recognized the bacterial fertility factor (factor F) and its role in DNA replication. This proved to be essential in our understanding of how bacteria transfer genetic material.

In the academic world, working with Joshua Lederberg was both a blessing and a curse for Esther Lederberg. Accessing labs through her husband opened doors that made many of her discoveries possible. As he was a senior researcher and professor, he had access to equipment that Esther Lederberg, as a woman, was not able to use. But that was where the benefits stopped. As long as she was Mrs. Lederberg, Esther’s success in science would be credited to her husband. Many of the papers they co-authored were published solely under Joshua Lederberg’s name. And, in the few papers in which Esther was credited for her work, Esther Lederberg’s name was listed as the secondary author and her husband listed as the primary author.

She lived in an environment where women were expected to live in the shadow of their husbands.

Even Joshua Lederberg did not give Esther Lederberg the acknowledgment she deserved. When Joshua Lederberg won the Nobel Prize for the work he and his wife had done together, including replica plating as well the bacterial fertility factor F, her name was not mentioned once in the prize. Joshua Lederberg admitted that his wife did deserve recognition for her contributions: yet he did not include her in any of his acceptance speeches. This unjust treatment would continue throughout all of Esther Lederberg’s career. Frequently, credit for her brilliant ideas was taken by the men she worked with.

Bibliography

Baker, Mitzi. “Esther Lederberg, Pioneer in Genetics, Dies at 83.” Stanford News, Stanford University, 29 Nov. 2006, news.stanford.edu/news/2006/november29/med-esther-112906.html. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.

“Esther Lederberg.” Notable Women Scientists, Gale, 2009. Science in Context, http://libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1668000236/SCIC?u=mlin_m_lexhigh&xid=64ffb734. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.

Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg Memorial Website. www.esthermlederberg.com. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.

Kaushik, K., and K. Kapila. “Women in medical microbiology: Reflections on contributions.” Indian Journal of Medical Microbiology, Oct.-Dec. 2009, p. 285. General OneFile, http%3A%2F%2Flink.galegroup.com%2Fapps%2Fdoc%2FA208077339%2FGPS%3Fu%3Dmlin_m_lexhigh%26sid%3DGPS%26xid%3Debdfa3af. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.

“Miriam Esther Lederberg.” What Is Biotechnology, www.whatisbiotechnology.org/index.php/people/summary/Lederberg_Esther. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.

Piqueras, Mercé. “Esther Lederberg, Pioneer of Bacterial Genetics.” Small Things Considered, American Society for Microbiology, 28 July 2014, schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2014/07/esther-lederberg-pioneer-of-bacterial-genetics.html. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.

Richmond, Caroline. “Esther Lederberg.” The Guardian, 12 Dec. 2006, www.theguardian.com/science/2006/dec/13/obituaries.guardianobituaries. Accessed 9 Mar. 2018.

Esther Lederberg: A Forgotten Genius was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Ghana Empire: Forgotten Flourishment

By Lauren Moore, Guyer High School

In the Eurocentric academic system we live in today, most of my peers tend to

know their entire ancestry. They have countless books and records of their relatives that lived in the times of Quakers and revolutionary wars. They have a who, what, where, when, and why. I, on the other hand, don’t even have the luxury of a who.

My African-American heritage has been tarnished and virtually erased due to past Europeans who believed that my motherland was inferior, and my people were just as worthless. They have cruelly bleached history that was not favorable to them, censored heritage that did not fit with their narrative, and shielded me as well as many other adolescents from their ancestors. Therefore, I and many others are left with only mere traces of genealogy, craving for those 5 W’s. My ancestors worked incessantly to reach a point where their descendants were educated, well-fed, clothed, bathed and had access to every opportunity. They have done everything for me. I want to know who they were.

Thus, I have made it my mission to find out everything and anything about where I came from. I used the minuscule traces of history I had to lead me to the region where my ancestors lived and prospered: West Africa, or more specifically, the Ghana Empire.

The people of the Ghana Empire, before they were Ghanaians, were a part of the Soninke tribe, presiding in parts of modern-day Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania in the 4th century. They began as a hunter and gatherer society, as most beginning civilizations did, and spent their days making new discoveries about the land in which they inhabited. However, with more agricultural-based advancements being discovered, the tribe began to learn the ways of sedentary farm life (VanBuren).

Due to the predictable wet and dry seasons of the coastal area, the Soninkes learned to adapt to their climate, collecting as much water as possible during the wet season, and planting rice and millet once the dry season began, maximizing on the moist and arable soil (VanBuren). Their techniques being successful, the crops flourished, especially in the coming years with more advanced irrigation techniques and agricultural tools. The tribe remained fed, and the crops remained plentiful.

The Soninke tribe began to morph politically into an empire in the 9th century when the tribe gradually began to understand the value of domestication and a government system. The community appointed a war chief/king whose word was considered law amongst the kingdom called a Ghana, which means “warrior king” in the ancient language. He appointed mayors, ministers, counselors, and other departments as needed to handle local affairs among the empire. However, Ghana was still very involved with the happenings of his people, listening attentively to his subjects’ complaints at the government’s daily council meetings (“Ancient”). Decidedly, the kingdom was officially named Ghana after its leader, and its inhabitants Ghanaians.

Because of the justness of the kingdom and its overall success as a whole, citizens remained loyal and peaceful towards Ghana and his court. If there were any discrepancies among the kingdom, punishments of sentenced slavery (equivalency of the modern-day parole), banishments, drafting into the army, or, in the worst cases, death, occurred. These punishments acted more of an assimilation tactic for outsiders to become more acquainted with the Ghanaian rather than actual dire punishment (“Kingdom”).

The Ghanaians lived comfortably and happily with the lives that they led: a community of people with modest livings and humble belongings. They were nothing out of the ordinary; however, everything changed with a single discovery. Between the Niger and Senegal rivers, an abundance of gold was hidden right beneath the surface, waiting for discovery (“Africa”). Once the kingdom realized that gold was a luxury good coveted and could be sold to other well-developed societies, their tribe began to rise in the ranks of the world, beginning the Trans-Saharan trade (Wood).

Because of the immobility of Ghana’s resources, hopeful traders from other regions were forced to travel into the kingdom using various Ghanaian-imposed routes throughout the Saharan terrain to Ghana marketplaces full of gold, ivory, copper, and traditional Ghanaian products such as pottery, clothing, and sculptures (“Demographic”). Ghanaians made a profit from taxing travelers foregoing on their land; both an entrance tariff and an exit tariff were established to maximize their earnings. From there, civil business ensued, with even more taxes being given for buying Ghanaian goods. The Ghana Empire thrived on their traders’ desperation for gold, deepening their empire’s wealth and prosperity.

In return for their gold and other goods, Ghanaians received an abundance of goods such as horses, cloth, and books from North Africans and, ironically, Europeans (“Kingdom”). The most important import to the empire, however, was salt from the Arabs. In the Ghana Empire, salt was equivalent in worth to gold, for salt helped Ghanaians survive their living conditions. Due to the relentlessness of the West African sun during the dry seasons, Ghanaians licked salt in order to replenish the large amounts of salt they lost due to excessive perspiration. Since salt didn’t naturally inhabit West Africa, the Ghanaians turned to the Arabs for their mountains of salt in the North. The Arabs vehemently agreed to trade their abundance of salt for the expensive metal, establishing the salt-gold trade (“Ghana”).

The Ghana Empire is where my ancestors lived and thrived for centuries. They were treated like royalty, rich with both gold and culture, until the eventual fall of their empire in the early to mid-13th century, marking the immediate rise of another great kingdom that would follow in Ghanaian footsteps: the Mali Empire (“Kingdom”). These empires were amongst the greatest in history, yet the only thing that seems to be remembered of West Africa is the savage infiltration of the Europeans and the constant rape and pillaging of my home.

History has forgotten about my people’s accomplishments. History has forgotten about the times when West Africa was an apex of trade and posterity. History only remembers my people as being imprisoned. Enslaved. Helpless. There are no remembrances of the Ghana Empire in everyday life. American adolescents don’t deem Africa to be a continent rich with history and intellectual advancements. No, Africa is a barren land meant to be pitied by the world. Africa is a poor, AIDS-ridden continent made up of “s***hole countries.”

These stereotypes damage the image of African excellence, creating more and more of a divide between Africa and the rest of the world. However, the genius among African peoples remains strong and thriving. Both African ancestors and descendants have proven time and time again that the melanin in our skin does not determine inferiority. We are not an “inferior” people. We are exceptional. We have broken barrier after barrier, succeeding in spite of adversity, race ridicule, and hatred.

This very empire is proof of our capability to rise. The Ghana Empire, starting off as a mere tribe, single-handedly created prosperous commercialization amongst the African landmass. They created a precedent of African excellence, and paved the way for two more gigantic West African empires: the Mali Empire and the Songhai Empire.

I have become infatuated with the genius of my ancestors’ advancements. I have nothing but pride for my distant ancestors and the lives that they led. What saddens me the most, however, is that I’d still be saturated in ignorance if I remained complacent in my education. I never would’ve known that my ancestors lived like royalty, and were a center of world commerce at one point in time. Therefore, it has become my mission to be a present-day voice for my history. I will not cower in the name of ignorance. Instead, I will educate ignorance, and potentially transform it into acceptance. Hopefully, one day, I won’t be the only one. Eventually, my unsung heroes will be appreciated for the greatness they achieved in all twelve months of the calendar year, not just February. Eventually, my people will be recognized for who they truly were and are today: Powerful. Resilient. Courageous. Caring. Diligent. Hard-working. Passionate. Intelligent. Me.

Bibliography

“Africa Before Transatlantic Slavery.” The Abolition Project. 2009. 1 February 2018. http://abolition.e2bn.org/slavery_41.html.

“Ancient Ghana Empire.” The Medieval Ages. 3 February 2018. http://themedievalages.weebly.com/africa-ancient-ghana.html.

“Demographic History of West Africa.” WHKMLA. 3 February 2018. https://www.zum.de/whkmla/sp/1011/glojo/kjy1.html#I. “Ghana.” CHNM. 3 February 2018. http://chnm.gmu.edu/fairfaxtah/lessons/documents/africaPOSinfo.pdf

“Kingdom of Ghana.” Independence Hall Association. 2008. 3 February 2018.http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7a.asp.

VanBuren, Jennifer. “The Importance of Farming to the Economy in Ancient Ghana.” Synonym. 1 February 2018. http://classroom.synonym.com/importance-farming-economy-ancient-ghana-20732.html

Wood, Ethel. AP World History: An Essential Coursebook. Germantown, NY: Woodyard Publications, 2011. Pgs. 298–305.

THE GHANA EMPIRE: FORGOTTEN FLOURISHMENT was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Vera Rubin: The Path to Changing the World

Anya Galvan, Bryan Collegiate High School

“The National Medal of Science award of 1993 goes to a scientist who has pioneered research programs in cosmology and proved to the world that much of the matter in the universe is dark. She leaves a path way for future scientists to continue her research in learning more about the complex and mysterious universe. I am proud to present this award to Vera Rubin!”

Vera felt of a jolt of overwhelming happiness as she heard her name called followed by the roar of applause. Not exactly sure what to do or say at the moment, Vera stood up and thanked those around her. Still in shock, and not fully in control of her emotions, a nicely dressed man approached Vera and lead her to the podium to receive her award. The walk to the front of the room seemed eternal, all Vera could think of was how far she had gotten, she always knew she would do something important with her life, she just never expected to be in that exact position.

Vera was a young child of only 10 years old and had already developed an interest regarding stars and space, but she had never considered a career or future to do with this. One night, Vera was having trouble sleeping, so she snuck into the kitchen for a snack. As Vera was walking through the dark, narrow hall, she saw a bright light coming from the living room. She assumed someone else was up, but the whole house seemed to be dead silent. Vera thought she might sneak up and spook whoever was in the living room, but when she got there, there was nobody. She was not only surprised to learn that there was no one up but also that there was no artificial light turned on. Instead, there was a bright spectacular light seeping in from a narrow gap between the window curtains. Intrigued by the powerful light, Vera walked out into the backyard and instantly became amazed by the view: the vibrant, massive moon in the center of it all, surrounded by glistening stars and a gradient of dark blues and violet shades creating a sense of darkness. Not long after that, stars became her obsession, and from then on, Vera purposely stayed up late every night and spent her time looking out the window, fascinated by all there was to learn.

Towards the end of high, school Vera felt extremely excited to attend college and fulfill her dream to become an astronomer even though she had very minimal knowledge of other astronomers. She had never heard of any astronomer in particular, much less met one. One particularly memorable day, Vera came home from school and found a letter in the mail addressed to her from Vassar, a college of which Vera’s idol, the famous astronomer Maria Mitchell, had previously taught at. Vera rushed inside to open it, her hopes for what the envelope contained made her nervous.

“What is it?” asked her mom.

“It’s from Vassar! It could be one of two things, but I’m not sure I want to open it.” “Come on, why not? What’s the worse it could be?”

“Here, you open it. I’m too nervous!” said Vera.

“No, no, it’s for you. Whatever it is, it will be fine,” assured her mother.

Vera stood there frozen, not able to move, in fear of what the letter contained. Finally, Vera took three deep breaths and began opening the letter, only to find that Vassar College offered her a scholarship to attend school in the fall. She was full of excitement; she wanted to run out and tell the whole world!

The very next day at school, Vera could not stand the excitement, and she went to her physics professor to tell him the great news.

“I was able to get my scholarship to Vassar, Sir! Now I am eligible to go study in the fall! “ Vera nervously stuttered while trying to hide the urge to jump up and down. She had rarely spoken to her teacher outside of class. He had absolutely no idea of Vera’s interest in science or that she strived to become an astronomer. “Isn’t that great?” Vera asked excitedly. “Yes indeed. Very good Ms. Cooper. As long as you stay away from science, you should do okay,” responded her teacher.

Vera felt stunned when she heard what her teacher had to say regarding her future. Speechless, Vera turned around and walked away full of conflicting questions. She had no idea why someone would try to discourage anyone from pursuing a career in anything, no matter the subject. For the rest of the day, Vera simply could not wrap her head around what her teacher told her.

What does that even mean? She thought. Was it because I’m a girl? These questions troubled Vera for a long time to come. Soon after came graduation, and Vera felt more than ready to leave high school behind where apparently people refused to support her career path and continue her journey of knowledge out in the world of intelligent and open people. It thrilled her to think how much more college would impact her because she would learn more about the subjects that fascinated her, side by side with others who thought similarly. Little did she imagine the difficulty of finding more aspiring astronomers with the same goals or even other students that would take her seriously and trust her work.

Life at Vassar proved good for Vera. She learned very much about both herself and astronomy. After all, it had always been her dream school. While studying at Vassar, Vera met a handsome man by the name of Robert. She met him one day while she was sitting at a local coffee shop researching schools she could attend after graduating from Vassar. Vera was sitting by herself at a table near the corner, next to a window of which the bright sun seeped through. When Robert walked in, he saw her sitting alone and was intrigued by how focused she was. He approached her and quietly sat down at her table.

“Hey, can I sit here?” asked Robert.

“Umm sure, why not?” answered Vera as she kept her eyes on her papers. Soon, they began conversing and hit it off. One date became another and soon after that, they began a relationship. Robert was studying to obtain his Ph.D. at Cornell University. He seemed very charming and intelligent. Vera soon fell in love with him. Within a few years, Vera graduated with a bachelor’s in astronomy from Vassar, and he was right there to congratulate her.

Once Vera graduated, Robert took her out to the most beautiful starlit scenery and asked Vera to marry him. At this point, Vera became conflicted. What about my studies? Or my career? Would he expect me to become a housewife? All these questions toppled around and around in her head. Ultimately, Vera made up her mind and decided to listen to her heart and accept.

Vera applied to Harvard and considered Princeton; however, at that time in history, Princeton would not accept women into the prestigious university. This was enraging to hear of. It seemed completely sexist as if women could not be as intelligent and successful as any man.

“Can you believe the audacity of this University? How could they not accept females?” Vera complained angrily.

“Well, they must not have an open mind, but it’s okay! You still got accepted to other universities, didn’t you?” responded Robert, trying to calm Vera down.

“Well, yes. I guess you are right. I do have options. It simply infuriates me to know of such harsh discrimination. I did get accepted to Harvard and also Cornell, and I suppose I could go there.”

“You could go to Cornell with me! It would be perfect. We get married and go study together. I will finish my Ph.D. while you work on your master’s,” suggested Robert.

Vera formally declined her acceptance from Harvard, and in response to her decline she received a letter thanking her for the notice, however, the letter also contained a particular comment along the lines of “Damn you, women. Every time I get a good one ready, she goes off and gets married,” which caused Vera to remember the words her physics teacher told her and the rules at Princeton regarding women. This letter helped her feel much more confident about her decision to go to Cornell even though the astronomy department seemed almost nonexistent. At least there they would not single her out or insult her for being a female scientist.

That same year, they joined in marriage, and Vera accompanied her husband at Cornell to complete her master’s. Vera soon discovered how great the astronomy program was at Cornell, despite only consisting of two people working in the department. By the time Vera birthed her second child, the time to present her thesis on galaxy rotation came. Vera brought up her courage and went into the room to present her thesis. Vera felt intimidated but she reminded herself of the reason she needed to complete this, not only for her passion for her career but also to prove that females could be taken seriously in the world of science.

Unfortunately, after her presentation, journals rejected her essay because of skepticism. This did not discourage Vera. Vera always knew one day she would make a difference. Instead, she worked harder to prove the existence of her work. After she graduated from Cornell, Vera continued her studies in Georgetown to obtain her Ph.D. This, however, was not her biggest accomplishment. Vera became the first woman ever permitted to use the Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory for her research. Vera ultimately proved to the world that dark matter truly existed, even though the world was skeptical at first of both her and dark matter.

Bibliography

Bahcall, Neta A. “Vera Cooper Rubin.” Physics Today, vol. 70, no. 3, Mar. 2017, pp. 73–74. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1063/PT.3.3503. Accessed 23 Jan. 2018.

Domonoske, Camila. “Vera Rubin, Who Confirmed Existence Of Dark Matter, Dies At 88.” NPR, 26 Dec. 2016,

www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/ 12/26/507022497 /vera-rubin-who-confirmed-existence-of-dark-matter-dies-at-88. Accessed 23 Jan 2018.

Lightman, Alan P. “Vera Rubin.” American Institute of Physics, 28 Dec. 2016 www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/33963. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

Rogers Brown, Kristin. “Adventures in Feministory.” Bitch Magazine: Feminist Response to Pop Culture, no. 75, Summer 2017, p. 7. EBSCOhost, kidd.blinn.edu: 2048/login?url=http://search.ebsco host. com/log in .aspx direct=true &db=a9h&AN=12306537 4&site=ehost-live&scope=site. Accessed Jan 23 2018.

Popova, Maria. “Pioneering Astronomer Vera Rubin on Women in Science, Dark Matter, and Our Never-Ending Quest to Know the Universe.” Brain Pickings, 27 Dec. 2016, www.brainpickings.org/2016/04/18/vera-rubin-interview-women-in-science. Accessed 22 Jan 2018.

“Profile: Vera Rubin and Dark Matter.” American Museum of Natural History www.amnh.org/explore/resource-collections/cosmic-horizons/profile-vera-rubin-a nd-dark-matter/. Accessed 23 Jan. 2018.

“Vera Rubin (1928 — ).” News — Special Reports — Vera Rubin — National Medal of Science 50th Anniversary I NSF — National Science Foundation, www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/medalofscience50/rubin.jsp. Accessed 13 Feb. 2018.

VERA RUBIN: THE PATH TO CHANGING THE WORLD was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Shiva Saravanan, A&M Consolidated High School

Von Neumann. The name permeates science, from von Neumann algebras to von Neumann cellular automata and seemingly everything in between. He was described by contemporaries as the cleverest man they ever knew, a man of mental capabilities that far surpassed even Einstein’s. He was a creature of contradictions; unfailingly kind in personal life but violently harsh in politics. Such a varied and interesting life seems ripe for fame, yet von Neumann is hardly a household name, unable to penetrate popular culture in the same way as a Newton, Einstein, or Galileo. Why?

From the beginning of his life, it was apparent that Von Neumann was destined for greatness. The son of privileged, honorary nobility, he wanted for little in his early years and was surrounded by a family that valued education. His photographic memory manifested itself early — he would amuse his parents’ friends by instantly memorizing pages of phone books on command. He was capable of seemingly impossible feats of arithmetic and was able to learn Latin and Greek by himself.

Constantly thinking, rolling ideas and numbers around in his head, he was on a different plane of existence throughout his childhood. It was here that he developed his lifelong love of history, voraciously reading everything he could find and remembering everything he read — enough for him, as an amateur, to match professors of Byzantine history later in life. As he entered school, Von Neumann was several years ahead of his peers in mathematics; however, he also remained friendly and approachable to all of them. Unfailingly enthusiastic about learning, von Neumann could talk constantly about the latest subjects of his intellectual curiosity. Eugene Wigner, a future Nobel laureate who had gone to school with von Neumann, said that von Neumann “went on and on and [Wigner] drank it all in” and that conversations with von Neumann made him “realize the difference between a first-rate mathematician and [himself]” (Kuhn).

The son of a lawyer for one of Hungary’s largest banks, he enjoyed life in large apartments and estates, and his parents enrolled him in one of the best schools in Budapest. Around the dinner table, both von Neumann and his brothers were expected to participate in adult discussions, with topics ranging through all facets of life, from philosophy to art to science. In 1913, von Neumann’s father was bestowed with an honorary nobility, putting the von in the name of the Neumanns. With an incomparable, enthusiastic intellect unhindered by monetary concerns and fully supported by his family, von Neumann was on a straight path to greatness…or so it seemed.

In 1914, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was roiled by World War I. As the country rushed to fight, the 10-year-old von Neumann was initially untouched. His family was well-off, and neither he nor his brothers were of military age. He continued his studies at the Lutheran Gymnasium and with his tutors, and it seemed that even a war would not crimp his unstoppable rise. However, with the war’s end came the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the institutions that had supported von Neumann’s family.

The transitional government led by Mihaly Karolyi posed little threat to the family’s situation, but it was soon replaced by that of Bela Kun, the Lenin-trained leader of the Hungarian Communist party, who began the brief reign of the Hungarian Soviet Republic with an agenda to nationalize estates — estates like those owned by the Von Neumann family. Finally, the war began to directly threaten the young von Neumann, and the family soon fled their homeland to neighboring Austria, hoping to wait out the crisis. This experience marked a formative period in von Neumann’s political views, as his passionate anti-Communism was forged, an animus which he would carry for the rest of his life.

After a countercoup a few months later by Miklos Horthy, the von Neumann family returned to Hungary, yet their lives would never really be the same. Anti-Semitism was rife throughout the nation, and the new government encouraged much of it. Although Von Neumann was admitted to the University of Budapest in 1921, overcoming a Jewish quota, he was also pressured by his father to take a course in chemical engineering at the University of Berlin and Zurich Institute, and only attended Budapest for exams. Although von Neumann’s father wanted his son to have a practical career rather than an abstract one in mathematics, his efforts proved futile. Von Neumann would obtain his Ph.D. in mathematics, his true passion, in 1926, and would leave Hungary permanently to work at the University of Gottingen and lecture at Berlin as a privatdozent, an astonishing position for someone of such a young age.

He wasted no time in making history. As von Neumann put it, he felt “an external pressure on the whole society of this part of Central Europe, a subconscious feeling of extreme insecurity in individuals, and the necessity of producing the unusual or facing extinction”, driving him onward to produce as much success as possible in as little time as possible (Israel, Gasca 11). This “pressure” was one of his most defining character traits, as his entire life was spent trying to maximize his mental potential. Almost immediately after his hiring, von Neumann helped revolutionize physics by creating a probabilistic theory of quantum mechanics.

To this day, the mathematics underlying quantum theory can be traced back to von Neumann’s insights.

He published an astonishing 32 papers between 1927–1930 — nearly one paper per month. During the same period, his personal life soared when he fell in love with a childhood friend, Mariette, whom he eventually married in 1930. Von Neumann’s rocket into grandeur had resumed — yet a war loomed which would tear him from yet another home.

Von Neumann’s first split with Germany was not ideological but financial. Due to the low salaries and fierce competition in Germany, von Neumann accepted a professorship role at Princeton in 1929. Although he was offered tenure, von Neumann, a loyal son of Europe, declined and continued to divide his time between the United States and Germany. However, the 1933 ascent of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party prompted von Neumann to reevaluate his position. This was a new kind of government, one which would not allow someone like John von Neumann to escape from its clutches. Yet the Hungarian was one step ahead of them. Fearing what was to come and appalled by Hitler’s rise, von Neumann quickly resigned from the German Mathematical Society and decamped — to the United States.

Even across an ocean, with his continent falling under the shadow of Nazism, Von Neumann continued his relentless work at Princeton. He refined his analysis of statistical mechanics that he had begun in Germany. He worked, thought, published…even the self-imposed exile couldn’t repress his intellect. And some of his homes had come with him, for plenty of other German academics had made the same fateful leap as von Neumann — something that was not lost on him. In the midst of his work, he threw lavish parties at his house for exiles and fellow professors, seemingly an act of decadence but in reality one of generosity, for these parties were a way for him to help fellow Europeans gain an all-important support network. Von Neumann, even in America, was stronger than ever.

Yet in 1935, he and his wife had their first and only child, Marina von Neumann. Soon afterward, in 1937, they divorced, thrown apart because, in his daughter’s words, Von Neumann’s “first love in life was thinking”, making a marriage to him frustrating for anyone who wanted normal human interaction (von Neumann 21). Despite remarrying soon after, Von Neumann remained devastated by this loss for his entire life. He never truly let go of his first wife, and they wrote to each other like longing lovers even while divorcing. His remarriage would never live up to his first, golden romance, and he would never regain the happiness that he had once had. For once, the smartest man on Earth had encountered a challenge he couldn’t think his way out of.

But the world left him no time to mourn. The Axis powers marshaled their forces for a conquest of the world, and von Neumann threw himself into the battle of minds. He was convinced that the United States would and should intervene in the conflict, wholly trusting his newfound country to make the right choices and dismissing any who feared the beginnings of American imperialism.

He made major contributions to the Manhattan Project, suggesting an implosion technique for the atomic bomb that proved key to its success.

One of Von Neumann’s most revolutionary ideas during this period was sparked by his dissatisfaction with hide-bound traditional economics combined with his almost defiant willingness to see “order beyond the disorder” of seemingly chaotic systems (von Neumann 25). In 1944, he published Theory of Games, the founding text of game theory, the study of strategies and decisions, and in 1945, he continued his military innovations with the von Neumann architecture, showing that machines did not have to store memory and instructions in separate areas — and creating a template for the modern computer in the process. The war had driven von Neumann to even greater heights. Even after the loss of his wife, even after the fall of his ancestral home to Hitler, the genius still innovated. Perhaps it was an inevitability, a fact of life. Yet soon, von Neumann’s politics would entangle him in a web that far surpassed any of the challenges he had met to date.

After the war, the communist Soviet Union was the chief rival to the United States. Remembering the ravages of Bela Kun in his home, von Neumann threw himself into military advocacy, arguing strongly for an aggressive stance against the Soviets. Due to his key role during the war, Von Neumann had become the head of the Atomic Energy Commission and now used his position to push for increased anti-Soviet militarism. Sparked by von Neumann’s previous computing innovations and his forceful push against Oppenheimer’s call for restraint, the United States developed and tested a hydrogen bomb, the most powerful weapon in the world at the time. Von Neumann was adamant that nuclear weapons were made to be used, contrary to his pacifist contemporaries in science. The genius was ready for battle.

However, Von Neumann’s time on Earth was drawing to an end. Less than a decade into the Cold War, he was faced with an enemy that he could not fight with bombs — cancer. With no solutions, no more innovations, and no treatments able to stop the merciless disease, in 1955 his death became inevitable, and as Von Neumann neared his time to pass, a mind that had as a child been able to divide two eight-digit numbers was unable to even add two single-digit ones, as its genius faded into mere memory. Von Neumann had never encountered such fear and helplessness. Despite being vehemently agnostic for his whole life, he converted to Catholicism near his death, yet even this balm brought him no peace, as he continued to be tormented by his mortality. As his minutes ticked away on his deathbed, von Neumann gave his brother a word-for-word recitation of Faust, putting the last of his memory into one final leap. Then, John Von Neumann, one of the greatest geniuses in human history, passed away at the age of only 54.

So why is von Neumann not a popular legend? Why is the man responsible for the computer, game theory, and the hydrogen bomb languishing in relative obscurity? Perhaps the versatility that made von Neumann so special is his curse. He is not a person who can be associated with one thing or even one field. His contributions span many fields of endeavor and are often too abstract for an average person to understand. Perhaps it is because he doesn’t sell well. Von Neumann has no patent office or falling apple, he never dropped out of school or had to rise out of poverty. What defined him was his endless curiosity, his boundless wit, and his unceasing commitment to realize the full potential of his intellect, an intellect which surpassed all others, for John von Neumann was in every sense of the word a universal genius.

Bibliography

Blair, Clay. “Passing of a Great Mind.” LIFE, 25 Feb. 1957, pp. 89–104.

Dransfield, Robert; Dransfield, Don (2003). Key Ideas in Economics. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes, 2003.

Henderson, Harry. Mathematics: Powerful Patterns Into Nature and Society. New York: Chelsea House, 2007.

Israel, Giorgio, and Ana Millan Gasca. The World as a Mathematical Game: John von Neumann and Twentieth Century Science. Birkhauser, 2009.

Kuhn, Thomas. “Eugene Wigner — Session I.” Eugene Wigner — Session I | American Institute of Physics, American Institute of Physics, 18 May 2015, www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/4963-1.

Von Neumann, Marina. The Martian’s Daughter: A Memoir. University of Michigan Press, 2012.

THE UNSUNG GENIUS OF JOHN VON NEUMANN was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

AN EXPECTED GENIUS — DMITRI MENDELEEV

Valeri Sevilla, Bryan Collegiate High School

Papers covered the floor like non-permanent tiles, all containing scrambled notes of what would seem like nothingness to most. Piles of books, stacked and scattered all about, some still laid opened. Some may say this office belonged to a madman, one who misplaced his mind among the mess, one who lost sight of reality in exchange for what could not be. On the other hand, others might exclaim that greatness was at work, as if the Russian Beethoven had come back to life to create a 10th symphony and needed the mess to remind himself of what he once was, but this man was no Beethoven. This man was not the epitome of greatness, nor the image of a genius.

Dmitri Mendeleev sat in his office, pretending to become frustrated by the loudness of the children and the crying of the baby. Pretending, due to his frustration not originating from their loudness, but because of his own incompetence. Incompetence which prevented him from solving this riddle that had haunted him at all hours, day and night, like a ghost after death. “Control the children, Anna!” He yelled to his wife, part of him felt guilty for screaming at her. Maybe his brain became too exhausted from the lack of sleep, or the lack of eating, or the accumulated stress. The man looked as if a piece of his mind had been stolen, but how can a part of his mind be stolen when he felt like it knew and processed more than ever before? But even though that may be true, he should be a madman not to understand what they meant, but a fool if he recognized it.

His mother, a strong, hardworking woman, always with a smile on her, that assured them that even if the world went up in flames, she would make sure they would never burn. Even after his father went blind, she never stopped smiling, but now it carried a different meaning. Her smile became the glue that held them all together, which promised that she’ll carry them all on her fragile shoulders. She worked tirelessly to fill the roles of a mother, father, and caregiver. Even after father died, her smile stayed but the light from her eyes faded. She worked like a machine, the heart of the glass factory, beating and beating. At nights, they could hear her sobbing quietly, but they pretended not to, not for their sakes but for her’s.

A year passed, and tragedy came back, like an old friend who held a grudge and needed to settle the score. The factory went up in flames, burning down not only the factory itself but their spirits as well. He didn’t look at his mother then, afraid of what he might see in her face. Pain? Sadness? He did not want to know. The next day, they woke up to their mother shaking them lightly, something odd in her eyes made him fear for what the day would to bring. “Pack your things boys, just what you need.” Her voice contained a slight edge to it, hiding something.

As he added things to his makeshift bag, he felt something heavy overcome him. He slowly walked outside, his steps felt heavy, his home felt empty. His mother stood next to a horse, items already loaded, ready to abandon their past. From that day, he swore her efforts would not be in vain. “Dmitri!” Anna yelled at Dmitri, clearly irritated from his unresponsive state. She came closer to him and looked him straight in the eyes. “I know you can do it, and she knew too.” With that, she walked out of the office to go attend to the children.

He stood up and walked towards the living room, where the children played a game which involved them rearranging cards. He gave a sly smile to them, regretting not being able to be as involved in their lives as he wanted to. Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms slip around him, filling his heart with temporary relief. He turned around and saw his wife standing there, her presence itself reminding him not to live in the past.

“Time for bed kids,” her voice held a sort of pain, for she dreaded the emptiness of her bed. Even when he laid beside her, his mind and soul were elsewhere. He sat in bed, feeling his body having an internal battle with his heart. Nothing made sense to him anymore. He was giving up his life for something he knew could never be done. Suddenly, he felt a surge of rage overcome him, rage that originated from his incompetence. He grabbed a nearby vase and threw it to wall, along with his sanity. He heard a muffled cry from the doorway. His wife stood there mid-tears. Then, the realization hit him like a gust of wind. He ran back into his office and wrote down all 63 elements along with their properties onto cards. He was stuck on the atomic mass when he suddenly remembered Stanislao Cannizzaro, who made accurate measurements of the elements.

Bibliography

“Dmitri lvanovich Mendeleyev.” Science and Its Times, edited by Neil Schlager and Josh Lauer, vol. 5, Gale, 2000. Science in Context, kidd.blinn.edu:2048/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K2643411780/SCIC?u=txshracd2489&x d=5649d185. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

“Dmitry lvanovich Mendeleev.” World of Chemistry, Gale, 2006. Science in Context, kidd.blinn.edu:2048/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc /K2432100276/SCIC?u=txshracd2489&xid=00cb?fb. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

Dmitry lvanovich Mendeleev.” World of Scientific Discovery, Gale, 2006. Science in Context, kidd.blinn.edu:2048/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K SCIC?u=txs 1648000454/hracd2489&xid=030eee39. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

“Dmitry Mendeleev.” Scientists: Their Lives and Works, UXL, 2006. Science in Context, kidd. blinn.edu:2048/login ?url=http://link.ga1egroup .com/apps/doc/K264150014 7 IS CIC?u=txshracd2489&xid=fb226225. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

“Dmitry Mendeleev.” World of Earth Science, edited by K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, Gale, 2006. Science in Context, kidd.blinn.edu:2048/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K2641910082/SCIC?u=txshracd2489&xi d=61356b5a. Accessed 22 Jan. 2018.

AN EXPECTED GENIUS — DMITRI MENDELEEV was originally published in Young Spurs on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.