Marcus Jones interviews Marilyn Richardson at a photography exhibit of prominent people in Boston's African American community, Boston Athenaeum, 29 February 1988. Ten O'Clock News Collection, Boston TV News Digital Library: 1960-2000 © 2018 WGBH

According to exhibit advisor and writer Marilyn Richardson (MIT professor from 1980 to 1998) the exhibit organizers tried to gather rare and unusual documents to demonstrate the complexity and strength of the African American artistic and political traditions. The 118-piece Black History Month exhibit included photographs of community activist and MIT Senior Lecturer Emeritus Melvin "Mel" King.