(Clark Atlanta University)
After receiving a scholarship and securing a job in the chemical storeroom on campus to further support his studies, Wes Memeger majored in chemistry at Clark College, now Clark Atlanta University, in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Chemistry Department comprised two instructors, Dr. Alfred S. Spriggs and Mr. Booker T. Simpson, who Dr. Memeger remembers fondly.
In this clip, Memeger talks about Spriggs' and Simpson's commitment to his education despite their own careers having been limited by discriminatory hiring practices. He also details thriving under circumstances that would have discouraged and intimidated most students—being the only student in the advanced organic chemistry course:
Photographs
Images (as noted) from Clark University Yearbooks online via the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center
The banner image includes a detail from Toward Disharmony II, a painting by Wesley Memeger Jr. Images in this digital exhibit (unless otherwise noted) are from the private collection of Wesley Memeger Jr.