Name
Flemmie Pansy Kittrell
Life
December 1904 - October 1980
Nationality
African-American
Family
Kitrell was 1 of 8 children and Kitrelll's parents, James and Alice, emphasised the important of education in all their children.
Education
1928 Bsc degree from Hampton Institute, Hampton (Virginia)
1930 Msci related to Science and Home Economics
1936 PhD in nutrition, Cornell University
Scientific career
Kittrell was the first African-American woman to gain a PhD in nutrition and the first African-American woman to gain a PhD from Cornell University. A larger part of Kitrell's research focused on protein requirements in adults and the importance of nutritional enrichment in infants. Kittrell also focused on nutrition in black infants. Her PhD thesis, A study on negro infant feeding practices in a selected community of North Carolina [1] , focused on nutritional habits in the black community.
During her career, Kittrell aimed to improve nutrition and believed that people should be concerned about low-income/minority groups in rural areas/small towns. One her international quests found her in Liberia where reported that the diet there was lacking in vitamins and proteins. Kittrell also studied nutrition in India, Russia, Guinea, West Africa and Japan. Her work on "hidden hunger" changed the agriculture and eating habits of many communities as she exposed that malnutrition was present in people with 'full stomachs'.
Kittrell's work improved the lives of millions by focusing on problems associated with diet worldwide. Kittrell spent her career focusing her research on underrepresented communities.
Achievements
1961 Scroll of Honour award from the National Council of Negro Women
Honorary scholarship from the American Home Economics Association
[1] Kittrell, Flemmie Pansy. "A Study on negro infant feeding practices in a selected community of North Carolina". RMC.Library.Cornell. Cornell University
Useful links
Flemmie Pansy Kittrell (Wikipedia)
Kittrell, Flemmie Pansy (BlackPast.org) #BHMwithBWIS