Skip to main content

Being Black at Harvard


It turns out that I am the first Black professor to attain tenure at Harvard in the physical sciences. When I go to events for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), I occasionally see other Black people, but they are few and they are not generally in the sciences (I was at a dinner table next to Jamaica Kincaid's recently!). To be Black at Harvard is to be on an island. To be Black at Harvard is to stand out. Being Black at Harvard means always being aware of your skin color. This awareness isn't always bad, necessarily. But my race is ever present in my mind, and that takes a cognitive toll, which has been documented extensively.

Since arriving in Cambridge, MA, I have been reading a great deal about the history of my people, and about the institutions in which we live and operate (inspired in large part by the book recommendations of Ta-Nehisi Coates). Not surprisingly, these institutions fail us more than they help. But at the same time, I've developed a deep and abiding pride in who I am, my personal history and my ancestry. I'm proud of the accomplishments of those who endured unthinkable treatment, ranging from slavery, to state-sanctioned terrorism, to institutionalized racism, to today's undercover biases and slights. To be Black is to be a survivor, and I'm proud of the path that was blazed for me to be what I am today: A Black Harvard Professor. 

I'm proud that today's Harvard values the diversity that I bring. Yes, I was hired in part because I'm Black, and Harvard needs what my unique racial makeup brings with it: namely, excellence. I bring viewpoints that are out of the norm, yet well aligned with the educational needs of an ever more diverse student body. I bring a formidable publication record, unique teaching methods and innovative approaches to all that I do. And I'm determined to see diversification accelerated here. Soon. There's much work to do, but I feel I'm in the right place to do it.

I, too, am Harvard
While I've found comfort and encouragement in my new position here at Harvard, it's important to keep in mind that my younger brothers and sisters don't necessarily get to enjoy the same benefits, and yes privileges, that my station in life has bestowed on me. This was hammered home for me by the video below. These are the voices of Harvard's Black students, but really these are the voices of Black people in 2014 America. Please, listen closely.


Comments

Unknown said…
We'll said John! And congrats on your tenure.

Popular posts from this blog

back-talk begins

me: "owen, come here. it's time to get a new diaper" him, sprinting down the hall with no pants on: "forget about it!" he's quoting benny the rabbit, a short-lived sesame street character who happens to be in his favorite "count with me" video. i'm turning my head, trying not to let him see me laugh, because his use and tone with the phrase are so spot-on.

The Long Con

Hiding in Plain Sight ESPN has a series of sports documentaries called 30 For 30. One of my favorites is called Broke  which is about how professional athletes often make tens of millions of dollars in their careers yet retire with nothing. One of the major "leaks" turns out to be con artists, who lure athletes into elaborate real estate schemes or business ventures. This naturally raises the question: In a tightly-knit social structure that is a sports team, how can con artists operate so effectively and extensively? The answer is quite simple: very few people taken in by con artists ever tell anyone what happened. Thus, con artists can operate out in the open with little fear of consequences because they are shielded by the collective silence of their victims. I can empathize with this. I've lost money in two different con schemes. One was when I was in college, and I received a phone call that I had won an all-expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas. All I needed to d

Reader Feedback: Whither Kanake in (white) Astronomy?

Watching the way that the debate about the TMT has come into our field has angered and saddened me so much. Outward blatant racism and then deflecting and defending. I don't want to post this because I am a chicken and fairly vulnerable given my status as a postdoc (Editor's note: How sad is it that our young astronomers feel afraid to speak out on this issue? This should make clear the power dynamics at play in this debate) .  But I thought the number crunching I did might be useful for those on the fence. I wanted to see how badly astronomy itself is failing Native Hawaiians. I'm not trying to get into all of the racist infrastructure that has created an underclass on Hawaii, but if we are going to argue about "well it wasn't astronomers who did it," we should be able to back that assertion with numbers. Having tried to do so, well I think the argument has no standing. At all.  Based on my research, it looks like there are about 1400 jobs in Hawaii r