2014.02.20

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作者：肯尼斯·库珀（Kenneth J. Cooper）

本·卡森（BenCarson）在自传中写道，他小时候是“底特律（Detroit）街头贫民区里的孩子”，当时美国正在经历民权运动的严峻考验。这个小时候学习有困难的黑人穷孩子最终成长为本·卡森医生，世界上最优秀的神经外科医生之一。

本杰明·所罗门·卡森（Benjamin SolomonCarson）于1951年9月18日出生于底特律。他8岁时父母离异；生活很快陷入贫困。卡森原本是个成绩一般的学生，但当他母亲说服他阅读书籍并学会乘法表后，他的成绩有所提高。很快他便发现自己沉浸在阅读之中，他把自己在学业上的突飞猛进归功于此。他特别提到布克·华盛顿（BookerT. Washington）的自传《超越奴役》（Up FromSlavery）中鼓舞人心的历程。布克·华盛顿生为奴隶，但后来创立了一所大学并曾为两位美国总统担任顾问。

卡森毕业于耶鲁大学（Yale University）和密歇根大学（University ofMichigan）医学院，在位于巴尔的摩（Baltimore）的约翰斯·霍普金斯儿童中心（Johns HopkinsChildren'sCenter）工作了30多年。他在这所著名的教学医院就职之初便在医学上取得重大进展。1987年，卡森领导一个70名成员的外科团队首次成功实施了头部连体双胞胎分离手术。

20年来，他与妻子拉赛娜（Lacena，昵称“坎迪”（Candy））一直经营着一个全国性的慈善机构——卡森学者基金（CarsonScholarsFund），为有志于服务社区的优秀学生提供大学奖学金，并资助在缺少图书馆的小学设立阅览室。他的目标是帮助他人发挥自律、刻苦和信仰等传统美德，走上类似于他所走过的成功之路。在所有50个州及哥伦比亚特区（Districtof Columbia），共有5,700多名卡森学者。此外，本·卡森阅读工程（Ben Carson ReadingProject）投资了约85万美元，在全国建立并管理88个阅览室。

2008年，乔治·布什（George W. Bush）总统授予卡森总统自由勋章（Presidential Medal ofFreedom），这是美国政府授予平民的最高荣誉。一部关于他的精彩人生和成就的电视电影《天才之手：本·卡森的故事》（Giftedhands: The Ben Carson Story，2009年）已使他广为人知。

本文刊载于2010年的《非洲裔美国人成功事迹》（Stories of African-AmericanAchievement）。

African-American Leaders: Ben Carson, Neurosurgeon

31 January2014

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By Kenneth J. Cooper

Ben Carson was “a ghetto kid from the streets of Detroit,” hewrites in his autobiography, at a time when the United States wasundergoing the crucible of the civil rights movement. That poorblack kid who struggled early in school grew up to be Dr. BenCarson, one of the world’s greatest neurosurgeons.

Benjamin Solomon Carson was born September 18, 1951, in Detroit.His parents divorced when he was 8; poverty soon followed. Anindifferent student, Carson’s grades improved when his motherconvinced him to read books and learn multiplication tables. Soon,he found himself immersed in reading, which he credits for hisacademic turnaround. In particular, he cites the inspiringtrajectory of Up From Slavery, the autobiography of BookerT. Washington, who was born a slave but founded a university andadvised two U.S. presidents.

A graduate of Yale University and the University of MichiganMedical School, Carson spent more than three decades at the JohnsHopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore. He achieved major medicaladvances early in his career at the renowned teaching hospital. In1987, Carson led a 70-member surgical team that performed the firstsuccessful operation to separate conjoined twins who were joined atthe head.

For the past two decades, he and his wife Lacena (“Candy”) haverun a national charity, the Carson Scholars Fund, which providescollege scholarships to outstanding community-minded students andfunds reading rooms inside elementary schools that lack libraries.His goal is to help others follow a path to success similar to theone he took, applying the traditional virtues of discipline, hardwork and faith. There are more than 5,700 Carson Scholars in all 50states and the District of Columbia. In addition, the Ben CarsonReading Project has invested some $850,000 to create and maintain88 reading rooms across the country.

In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Carson thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the U.S.government bestows on civilians. Popular recognition has come withthe television movie Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story(2009), about his remarkable life and achievements.

This essay was published in Stories of African-AmericanAchievement in 2010.

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