Chester Middlebrook Pierce ( – ) was an American psychiatrist who was a tenured professor of education and psychiatry at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

. He was the first African-American full professor at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

, and was past-president of the

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc. (ABPN) is a not-for-profit corporation that was founded in 1934 following conferences of committees appointed by the American Psychiatric Association, the American Neurological Association, an ...

and the American Orthopsychiatric Association. He was a fellow in the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

. He was a senior consultant for the acclaimed educational children's television series

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

. He also coined and developed the term "

microaggression Microaggression is a term used for commonplace daily verbal, behavioral or environmental slights, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative attitudes toward stigmatized or culturally marginalized group ...

Biography

Chester Pierce was born on March 4, 1927, in

Glen Cove, New York Glen Cove is a Political subdivisions of New York State#City, city in Nassau County, New York, United States, on the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island. At the 2020 United States Census, the city population was 28,365 as of th ...

. At the time, only 10% of the 8,000 residents were African Americans. Pierce became the first African American president of his high school. In 1948, he received his A.B. degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and in 1952 he received his M.D. degree from the

. After medical school, Pierce trained as a psychiatrist in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Pierce was the first African American college football athlete to perform on the playing field of a predominantly-white university versus an all-white team below the Mason–Dixon. Harvard's opponent was

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, October 11, 1947, before a crowd of 22,000. Pierce died on September 23, 2016 at age 89.

Professional work

Pierce published over 180 books, articles, and reviews. In 1998, he was the topic of the book titled ''Race and Excellence: My Dialogue with Chester Pierce'' by Ezra E. H. Griffith. His work mostly surrounds areas of racism, societal tensions, sports medicine, and the media. He was a member of the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences as well as at the American Academy of Arts and Science. Pierce guest lectured at over 100 universities in the United States. Although Pierce retired as a psychiatrist in 1997, one of his most recent accomplishments came in 2002 when he organized an "African Diaspora" conference that brought psychiatrists from all around the globe to discuss issues and problems. Because of his efforts, the MGH Division of International Psychiatry was founded in 2003. The Harvard Foundation also commissioned a portrait of Pierce, which now hangs in the residence hall in which he lived as an undergraduate at Harvard. Pierce was a Commander in the U.S. Navy and later a senior consultant to multiple different health-related organizations, and part of 22 editorial boards. He participated in the World Association of Social Psychiatry. Much of his time was spent working with organizations that help to promote human rights, conservation, and youth education. He was a consultant for the Children's Television Network, the Surgeon General of the U.S. Air Force, the US Arctic Research Commission, the Peace Corps, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Pierce was a professor of education and psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He became the first African-American full professor at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Pierce was a past president of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in the American Orthopsychiatric Association and later a fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. From 2001-2004 he was on the Carter Center Mental Health Task force and a founding president of the Black Psychiatrists of America. During that time he was also the National Chairperson of the Child Development Associate Consortium. He spent much of his career as a Senior Psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and worked as a psychiatrist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 25 years. Dr.Pierce also worked in some capacity with the MK ULTRA program. Pierce and Gail Allen defined

childism Childism can refer either to advocacy for empowering children as a subjugated group or to prejudice and/or discrimination against children or childlike qualities. It can operate thus both as a positive term for a movement, like the term feminism, as ...

as a fundamental form of oppression of children.

References

* * * West, L. J. (1983), CHESTER MIDDLEBROOK PIERCE, M.D., Sc.D.

American Journal of Orthopsychiatry The ''American Journal of Orthopsychiatry'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering orthopsychiatry. It is published by the American Psychological Association on behalf of the Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice ...

, 53: 196–200. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-0025.1983.tb03364.x {{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Chester Middlebrook People from Glen Cove, New York American psychiatrists Harvard Medical School faculty African-American people 1927 births 2016 deaths Harvard Crimson football players Players of American football from New York (state) Harvard Medical School alumni Harvard College alumni Massachusetts General Hospital faculty Members of the National Academy of Medicine