For Philip Hart, Ph.D., it all began when he was a young boy flipping through photos in the family scrapbook. There was his uncle, the pilot, flying coast to coast, a contemporary of Bessie Coleman and Charles Lindberg. Folks thought Philip was crazy when he talked about his uncle. They said he was making up tall tales. Besides, there was no mention in the history books, so he had to be lying.
From that moment on, Phil Hart dedicated himself to uncovering our truths, telling our stories, and building up our communities.
This Denver native is more than his resume, and it is impressive. A star CU basketball player and honor student, he is enshrined in the University’s Distinguished Alumni Gallery. He earned his graduate degrees at Michigan State University’s College of Social Science, Department of Sociology. His 1974 doctorate dissertation: “Problems in Organizational Renewal.”
In the early 1970s, Philip Hart convinced Stevie Wonder to perform a concert at Michigan State to raise money for a Black scholarship fund. It goes without saying that it was a major success.
Dr. Hart was professor of sociology, department chair and director of the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture at University of Massachusetts Boston from 1974 to 2002. He was named the 2010 Diversity Executive of the Year by Commercial Property Executive. He was the 2018 Rachel B. Noel Distinguished Visiting Professor at Metropolitan State University. Additionally, he was the 2019 Bessie Coleman Aerospace Legacy Award recipient.
Dr. Hart is an educator, an author, a filmmaker, an urban planner, and a developer. He has written more than 100 articles and books on topics ranging from early African American aviators, to the health needs of urban African Americans, to incubating inner city biotech, to the role of minority developers, to urban parks, to social statistics and the law, to rebuilding New Orleans post Katrina, to an American reckoning on race.
He is a real-life Renaissance Man. My friends, meet Philip Hart, Ph.D.
