Date: Tuesday, December 14, 2010, 5:23 am
By: Erica Taylor, The Tom Joyner Morning Show
Dr. Herbert Smitherman was a pioneering executive and professional chemist at Proctor & Gamble.
Dr. Herbert Smitherman was a pioneering executive and professional chemist at Proctor & Gamble who led the way for other African-Americans at the prestigious company in the 1960s. He was the first black person with a doctorate hired at Proctor & Gamble.
With a Ph.D in physical organic chemistry, Dr. Smitherman developed a number of incredibly popular patents, including Crest toothpaste, Safeguard soap, Bounce fabric softeners, Biz, Folgers Coffee and Crush soda, to name a few. Not only are they still on the shelves, but many of them are on display at the Cincinnati Museum Center in the featured exhibit, “America I AM: The African-American Imprint.”
Nicknamed the “Jackie Robinson of Proctor & Gamble,” Dr. Smitherman spent 29 years there before turning in his labcoat to work as a professor at Wilberforce University. But after serving at the historically black college, Smitherman turned his attention to starting a high school called the Western Hills Design Technology School to help black students perform better in math and science.
A child of the south, Dr. Smitherman’s family lived in Birmingham, Alabama, where his father served as a reverend. A young Smitherman would see his father’s church burn down twice during their push for voting registration and voting rights.
He died this year on Oct. 9.
Dr. Smitherman’s legacy was left in his association with HBCUs, specifically his alma mater, Tuskegee Institute, where he met his wife of 51 years; Howard University, where he got his PH.D, and Wilberforce University, where he enlightened many students on his world of historical innovation.
May 1st, 2024
Greetings CBTU Members:
The Executive Board would like to have a meeting to prepare for the busy months ahead. There is so much happening quickly and it's important that we can get information to you. Please ensure you are signed up to the current Whatsapp chat.
Please continue to follow the WhatsApp CBTU Ontario chat :
Dear CBTU Family and CBTU friends,
Enclosed are the details for the next Shared Closet event in support of the African Refugees in Canada.
The event will take place at the OPSEU Union Hall, located at 31 Wellesley Ave, Toronto, on the dates and times shown on the bulletin. Please join CBTU as we come together to assist those within our community who need our support the most. We are asking CBTU members, their families, and supporters for donations of time, finances, gently used clothing, toiletries, and more.
Please join CBTU and our alli Shared Closet as we actively work to improve living and working conditions within the Black community.
Please share in your networks
In solidarity
CBTU - Canada
The McClean family and Coalition of Black Trade Unionists would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your generosity in funding the CBTU Scholarship Fund. In memory of Sylvia McClean, a true god sent to everyone she met.
