The Honorable Valerie Jarrett, former Senior Advisor to President Obama, in conversation about the life and legacy of her great-grandfather, MIT’s first Black graduate, MIT, 30 September 2022.

The event recognized the impact and legacy of Robert Robinson Taylor (Class of 1892), MIT’s first Black graduate, the first accredited Black Architect in the United States, and a founder of Tuskegee University and its architecture school. This gathering celebrated the loan of Taylor’s MIT diploma to the campus for the inaugural exhibition of the new MIT Museum by Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Barack Obama Foundation and Taylor’s great-granddaughter, and included reflections on Taylor’s legacy and new collaborations between Tuskegee and MIT by Professor of the History and Theory of Architecture Mark Jarzombek PhD '86, as well as Kwesi Daniels, Professor and Head of the Department of Architecture at Tuskegee University. Dr. Holly Harriel MCP '03--Tuskegee Class of 1996, MIT Class of 2003, DUSP Lecturer, and MIT CoLab Director--moderated the discussion with Ms. Jarrett.