Reading A Negro Explorer at the North Pole | Alexandria
Read A Negro Explorer at the North Pole by Matthew Henson. Discovering that a Black man reached the North Pole first upends polar exploration's whitewashed history. Matthew Henson's groundbreaking 1912 memoir reveals how he mastered Inuit survival skills and led the way, while expedition leader Peary got the glory. His story illuminates both the erasure of Black achievement and the complex dynamics of race in scientific discovery.