“For our story, another important thing is that the year that he started at Bell Labs, 1942, was a focal point for Black science in New Jersey,” he said. “David H. Blackwell, one of the most outstanding Black mathematicians, was at the Institute for Advanced Study; J. Ernest Wilkins Jr. was also at the Institute and went from there to work on the Manhattan Project. I just think it’s very interesting that here are these three pioneering Black scientists, all in New Jersey in the year 1942.”
