Pioneering African-American chemist refused to ‘pass’ for white; he sought cure for cancerPosted in Articles, Biography, Media Archive, Passing, United States on 2015-02-05 02:43Z by Steven |
Pioneering African-American chemist refused to ‘pass’ for white; he sought cure for cancer
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis, Missouri
2015-01-31
Michael D. Sorkin, Reporter
Lincoln I. Diuguid, then 84, in a 2001 photo. Photo by Laurie Skrivan
Growing up, Lincoln Diuguid dreamed of becoming a scientist. He shoveled coal and snow to earn room and board at college. He couldn’t afford enough to eat and lost weight. His father hocked a life insurance policy to pay for a semester at graduate school.
Although his academic adviser told him he was wasting his time, he wouldn’t give up. He finally earned a doctorate in chemistry. He had everything except a job.
Then he got an offer. A really good one. An executive at a chewing gum company in New York City offered him a coveted position as assistant research director.
There was just one catch: It was the 1940s. He had to agree to “pass” as a white man and to never hire a black man.
Diuguid (pronounced “dewgid”) was a light-complexioned African-American.
He refused — and didn’t get the job.
That made him even more determined…
..He died Tuesday (Jan. 27, 2015) at Beauvais Manor rehab center in St. Louis. He was 97 and had been diagnosed with pneumonia and the flu, his family said…
Read the entire obituary here.