Our own Dr. Jim Shoffner is our kickoff for celebrating #blackhistorymonth this year. Jim grew up on a rural plantation, then earned his PhD at UIC and had long, celebrated career as an organic chemist with UOP in Des Plaines, Illinois. He's served the Chicago ACS for decades, and was Section Chair in 1976. 
Listen to his remarkable oral history at The HistoryMakers:
http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/james-shoffner-1