When Wesley Memeger, Jr. started at DuPont in 1964, he was only the fourth African American with a doctorate in chemistry to join the firm. Over the course of a 32-year career, he amassed fourteen patents and left his mark on some of DuPont’s most famous products, like Kevlar. His passion for chemistry continues to reverberate in his art, which often explores the geometrical themes reminiscent of molecular models. Today, he and wife Harriet, a fiber artist, pursue their joint love of art together.

Join us as Memeger recounts his journey, beginning as the son and grandson of farmers in St. Augustine during the Jim Crow era, following his interest in science to Clark University, a historically Black university in Atlanta at the height of the Civil Rights Era, to beginning a family and career in Wilmington amid growing civil unrest. Throughout his life, he has advanced innovation, justice, philanthropy, and art.

The video will premiere at 7 p.m. EST on Wednesday, February 24.

Visit www.hagley.org/memeger to view the premiere.

This program is partially funded by a grant from Delaware Humanities, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.