Great Underappreciated Black Biologist
Ernest Everett Just was a pioneering African American biologist, academic, and science writer known for his work in the fields of cellular biology and marine biology. I learned about his life and contributions listening to a talk given by Mélina Mangal, author, school library teacher, and biographer of Ernest Everett Just. Her picture book, The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, fills in the gray spaces in a conventional biographical profile. As a science teacher, hearing about the life and research of a major scientist who gets too little credit, fascinated me. As someone who enjoys writing, it impressed me the amount of research that Mangal conducted to capture the essence of Ernest Everett Just.
The Vast Wonder of the World tells the story of how as a biologist, Just broke new ground in cellular and developmental biology. As a person and as a professional, he struggled throughout his life with racism and segregation.
Ernest Everett Just was born on August 14, 1883, in Charleston, South Carolina. Ernest Everett Just grew up in a home that highly valued education. He showed an early aptitude for learning. In 1903, he enrolled at Dartmouth College, where he excelled academically and graduated with honors in 1907. Just’s undergraduate work was so impressive that he was the only person in his class to be elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society in his junior year.
After graduating from Dartmouth, Just became a teacher at Howard University, a historically black university in Washington, D.C. He also served as the head of the Department of Zoology at Howard. During this time, he pursued graduate studies and earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in experimental embryology from the University of Chicago in 1916. Just’s research focused on the physiology of development, particularly the process of fertilization and cell division.
As a boy, he explored the tidal waters near his home, observing critters and learning about nature first-hand. Marine biology was his first passion. He conducted many of his experiments at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. By studying cell surface phenomena, he made significant breakthroughs regarding the importance of the cell membrane and cytoplasm in development. He discovered that the egg cell directed its own development during fertilization. This groundbreaking discovery was controversial, as it displaced the conventions of biology at the time. Just also studied the impact of environmental factors on the development of marine organisms.
Ernest Everett Just faced considerable racial discrimination throughout his career, which limited his opportunities for advancement and recognition. Racism frustrated his ambitions because to get a job at a major university in the United States, as his research and publications merited. He wanted a position that would give him a steady paycheck and more time to do his research. Throughout his career, he constantly struggled against racism and prejudice to find opportunities to do research, which he called “the breath of his life”. As his reputation as a scientist grew, he attracted attention from scientists around the world. Ironically, he found more warmth and respect in Europe than in the US. In her talk, Mangal recounted a conversation Just had with another passenger as they sailed past the Statue of Liberty on one of his many trips to Europe. He remarked that many people coming to the US, see that icon of our nation as a symbol of freedom and liberty. Ironically, he said, sailing past the statue on the way to Europe was what symbolized freedom and liberty to him.
Despite these challenges, he was a prolific writer and published numerous scientific papers and articles. Leading biologists now have recognized his work for its significance and innovative approach to studying cellular and developmental biology.
Just’s contributions have inspired generations of scientists, particularly African American researchers, who have faced similar challenges in their careers. He serves as a role model for perseverance, intellectual curiosity, and dedication to pursuing scientific knowledge. At the end of her talk, Mangal showed a picture that a student has sent her. There could be no finer tribute to an author than this. The picture showed him standing beside his science fair poster on marine biology, holding her book and dressed as a young Ernest Everett Just.
Mélina Mangal, The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, published 2018, by Millbrook Press, illustrated by Luisa Uribe. This book might make a great gift for an early reader!
Wikipedia: Ernest Everett Just, retrieved August 18, 2023.