MIT-India and MIT-Africa were thrilled to team up to host a conversation with MIT alumni, students, and faculty on difficult but necessary topics around diaspora, race, inclusion, and identity. Today we are going to share parts of that conversation.

The event featured MG Vassanji, Class of 1974, a Kenyan-born, Tanzanian-raised South Asian who currently lives in Canada. Dr. Vassanji is a prize-winning novelist and while at MIT, he co-founded the MIT African Students Association.

The panel also included MIT history Professor Kenda Mutongi, author of Matatu: A History of Popular Transportation in Nairobi; Also students Boluwatife Akinola, President of the MIT African Students Association; and Deekshita Kacham, President of the MIT South Asian Association of Students.

The panel discussion was moderated by MIT History Professor Sana Aiyar, author of Indians in Kenya: The Politics of Diaspora.

Prof. Mutongi and Dr. Vassanji illustrated the unique experiences of a generation of Africans who came of age in a period of decolonization, Africanization, and nation-building.

The student panelists offered their experiences as members and leaders of their identity-based affiliation groups on campus.

To listen to the entire recording, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cboGjdBptzc

The South Asian Oral History Project

MISTI RadioBy MISTI CommMar 04, 2021