African-African American Dinosaur and Space Hunters

BlackInTech Berlin is proud to present the remarkable life of Louis R. Purnell during this Speaker's Corner. Louis R. Purnell, Jr., a fighter pilot and speech therapist, became the first Black curator to work at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

While studying for his undergraduate degree at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, Purnell earned a private pilot license. Purnell then became a Tuskegee Airmen, according to the Smithsonian. In 1943, Purnell joined the all-Black 99th Fighter Squadron, climbed to the rank of captain and completed two tours of duty in North Africa and southern Italy during World War II, according to the Los Angeles Times. After the war, Purnell graduated from Howard University and became a speech therapist, according to the Chicago Tribune. In 1961, he dove into the world of science at the Smithsonian, working in the Museum of Natural History's paleobiology and oceanography divisions. He worked with specimens and took part in collection trips. Even without a background in biology, he published a catalogue of invertebrate fossil specimen, according to the Smithsonian. He studied geology at The George Washington University and became an ace at identifying nautiloids, a large group of cephalopods.

However, discrimination meant he was passed over for promotions, so Purnell transferred to the National Air and Space Museum. There too, he faced racism in the Aeronautics Department, so he took a position in the Astronautics Department. The timing was perfect; he started in 1968, just in time for the 1969 moon landing.

Purnell directed the removal of Apollo 4 and the placement of the Apollo 11 Command Module, and crafted other exhibits, including one on spacecraft and spacesuits. He died of cancer in 2001.