Seven posters lined the walls of the Shawkey Dining Room Wednesday, Feb. 11,, each one honoring a Black scientist with ties to West Virginia during Marshall’s West Virginia Black Scientist Exhibit.
Anna Mummert, the associate dean of the College of Science and professor in the Department of Mathematics & Physics, organized the exhibition and served as the primary speaker for the event.
“When Black History Month began in 1926, its purpose was to ensure Black achievement would be studied, taught and remembered,” Mummert said, “so that is the goal of my presentation: to celebrate Black scientists.”
The program, held from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Memorial Student Center, was attended by students, faculty and community members both in person and virtually. It was part of Marshall University’s centennial observance of Black History Month, previously Negro History Week, established by historian Carter G. Woodson.
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Mummert said the idea for the project began about a year ago and was fostered by Burnis Morris, the Carter G. Woodson Lyceum director and the Carter G. Woodson Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications, and Montserrat Miller, the executive director of the John Deaver Drinko Academy for American Political Institutions and Civic Culture and professor of history.
“I was attending some Black History Month events last year, and it was brought to my attention that this was the 100th year of Black History Month, formerly Negro History Week,” Mummert said, “and that it was created by Carter G. Woodson, who has ties to Huntington and West Virginia. Coming out of the College of Science, I thought we should celebrate scientists and honor that West Virginia tradition, so we’re going to focus on Black scientists with history in West Virginia.”
The exhibit — on display in the Science Building throughout February and on the College of Science Facebook page — was designed by Carly Kirk, office administrator in the College of Science, who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a minor in art history.
“When designing these posters, we really wanted to focus on a few different things,” Kirk said during the presentation. “Of course, we wanted to highlight the accomplishments of these incredible Black scientists, but we also wanted to focus on their ties to the state.”
The posters all follow a shared design and framework that uses Marshall University branding with portraits, biographical summaries and visual elements inside the outline of West Virginia that connect to each scientist’s work.
“We also wanted to make sure that Black women were highlighted in several of the posters,” Kirk said, noting their contributions are often underrepresented.
The seven scientists and mathematicians featured in the exhibition were each selected for both their professional impact and their connection to West Virginia.
Among them is George Washington Carver, the agricultural scientist and botanist known for revolutionizing crop rotation and promoting economic independence for rural farmers. Though he has the least direct connection to the state, Mummert said she “couldn’t resist having him join us,” citing his broader legacy in agriculture and education.
Margaret S. Collins, zoologist and entomologist who grew up in Institute, West Virginia, became the first Black female entomologist. Her termite research remains preserved in the Smithsonian Institution. Collins was also active in the Civil Rights Movement, volunteering during the Tallahassee bus boycott.
Elbert Frank Cox, the first Black mathematician to earn a Ph.D., was instrumental in building graduate mathematics education at Howard University. His legacy continues through the Cox-Talbert Address, associated with the National Association of Mathematicians, an organization founded to address systemic exclusion in the field.
Katherine Johnson, the NASA mathematician whose calculations were critical to the success of early space missions, including John Glenn’s orbital flight, was born in White Sulphur Springs. Her family relocated to Institute, so she and her siblings could attend high school — a move that reflected the family’s deep commitment to education.
Johnson later was selected as one of the first three Black students — and the only woman — to integrate the graduate school at West Virginia University and went on to become one of NASA’s most trusted mathematicians. As portrayed in the film ”Hidden Figures,” Glenn requested Johnson personally verify computer calculations before his flight.
“If she says they’re good, then I’m ready to go,” Glenn said at the time.
Titus Pankey, nuclear physicist, conducted research in magnetism and cosmology and later worked on early semiconductor thin-film technologies used in space-related applications.
Carolyn Beatrice Parker, nuclear physicist and radiochemist, worked on classified research related to the Manhattan Project and later studied radio communication disruptions in high-energy environments.
Finally, James Edward Young, a particle physicist who turned 100 in January, supervised groundbreaking work in supersymmetry and became the first Black tenured professor in MIT’s physics department. Young remains the only living scientist featured in the exhibit.
Kirk said the goal was to highlight not only achievement, but also presence.
“It’s important to show that these scientists were not anomalies; they were pioneers whose work deserves recognition,” Kirk said.
Emeritus faculty Dan Holbrook used his remarks to frame their achievements within the broader history of science.
“I would love to be able to say that the sciences stood strong and resisted the cultural, social, discriminatory paradigm surrounding Black people and happily and willingly accepted them into their ranks,” Holbrook said, “but that is just not true.”
Referencing Thomas Kuhn’s theory of paradigm shifts, Holbrook argued the accomplishments of the scientists on the posters challenged entrenched systems of exclusion.
“Their success should be seen as exactly the sort of observed facts and evidence that will eventually undermine the dominant cultural paradigm and help to shift it in a more just and equal direction,” Holbrook said. “Let’s then celebrate them for being the sort of anomaly that forces that shift, so that they are no longer anomalies.”
Holbrook cited National Science Foundation data showing Black scholars remain underrepresented in STEM doctoral programs, including mathematics and engineering.
Wesley Stites, the dean of the College of Science, shifted the focus forward.
“Are things better than they were? I hope we all agree, ‘Yes, they are,’” Stites said, “but I think we all agree that they’re not where we want them to be and that we want to continue to work to improve the situation.”
Stites described how expectations and exposure shape career paths.
“As a society, telling a large percentage of your population that you’re not welcome in this career — or even when you perceive that that’s the case — is a terrible place for us to be,” he said. “We’re doing damage to ourselves if we let that situation continue.
“If you look at where we are right now, we’ve come a long way, but we obviously still have a long way to go,” Stites said.
During the Q&A, Alan Letton, the director for the Center for Economic and Community Development in Black Appalachia and Isolated Communities, added context about the networks that supported Black scientists during periods of exclusion.
“There was actually a community of physicists and chemists that socialized on a national level,” Letton said, describing professional organizations that provided mentorship and opportunity for Black scientists.
He referenced a documentary film about chemist Percy Julian, titled ”The Forgotten Genius,” which explores the struggles and achievements of Black scientists navigating institutional barriers.
Letton noted the film highlights how informal networks and mentorship sustained generations of researchers.
“There was really a closed-group community that worked together,” Letton said. He noted many had connections to Howard and MIT, yet some still had to have their dissertations published outside the United States because of racial issues.
Mummert said the exhibit itself emerged from a simple idea that grew larger, noting, “Our initial list had maybe 15 on it,” before they ultimately narrowed the focus to seven historical figures rather than more contemporary professionals.
The posters are a reminder scientific revolutions are not only about discoveries, but also about who is allowed to be seen making them. A century after Woodson’s original call to study and remember Black achievements, the seven scientists’ contributions to West Virginia and the world remain visible and inspiring.
As attendees drifted toward the posters for a closer look, Mummert reminded the audience the project began not with expertise, but with enthusiasm.
“I just want to say, I’m not really an expert in science,” she said. “I’m not really an expert in Black scientists. I’m not an expert in history at all. I am just an excited amateur, and I’m excited that you’re here to join me in this adventure to celebrate science.”
David Lozano can be contacted at [email protected]