Back in the United States Peary was a hero, but he took Captain Bartlett with him to all the celebrations. Matt was a Negro so he was not invited. Back then, in 1909, people only thought of African Americans as servants—not explorers. Poor Matt had to make his way in life on his own while Peary was famous and got lots of money. Only many years later did Dr. Allen Counter, a famous professor at Harvard University, help make up for this. He had Matt's body re-buried next to Peary's grave. He had the Navy name a ship after Matthew Henson. And he had the National Geographic Society award a big gold medal to Matt's grand niece—the same big gold medal Captain Bartlett got back in 1910. Now everyone knows how special and brave Matthew really was.