Dr. Reatha Clark King 1938-, portrait painted by Carol Jacobsen

Dr. Reatha Clark King  1938-

As a child in Georgia, Reatha Clark King picked cotton for $6 a day to help her family make ends meet. Long days in the hot sun was her motivation for something better. Says King, “There is nothing that motivates you like hard work in the cotton field. I recall being 12 years old and picking 200 pounds of cotton… when we had a rest break, I would write my multiplication tables in the sand.”   Fortunately, she was encouraged by her family and church, to pursue her education. From her start in a one-room schoolhouse in the segregated South, she earned a Ph.D. in chemistry by the time she was 25.  

After graduation, Reatha worked as a principal investigator at the Bureau of Standards becoming the agency’s first black female chemist. She was contracted to work with NASA for four years where she developed the fuel formula for Apollo 11. It was a dangerous job. She said of lift-off day, “I feared an explosion could happen, and the astronauts could lose their life. When I heard the first astronaut speak, it was pure joy. I said, ‘oh thank you, God.’”

Despite all of the awards and accomplishments in her life, her greatest joy is speaking to children and encouraging the next generation.

Portrait by Carol Jacobsen is from the 100 Women of Color and Accomplishment series. This series was started in 2020 as Carol’s call to action following the murder of George Floyd, when she was inspired to use art to bring attention to the overlooked women who have overcome barriers of race and gender to achieve their dreams and also give back to the community. They are powerful and inspiring women of character.

 "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Each matte canvas comes with back hanging already included for convenient placement. The frame is made with profile radiata pine that is ethically sourced from renewable forests.

.: Materials: cotton and polyester composite (canvas), pine wood (frame)
.: Comes in 60 different sizes (including vertical and horizontal orientations)
.: Horizontal, vertical and square options available
.: Soft rubber dots on bottom back corners for support
.: Back hanging included
.: Inner frame made with radiata pine sourced from renewable forests
.: Please note: Due to the production process of the canvases, please allow for slight size deviations with a tolerance +/- 1/8" (3.2mm)