Untold Stories of the Titanic: The Only Black Passenger

In this lecture, Kellie Carter Jackson, PhD, Knafel Assistant Professor of the Humanities in the Department of Africana Studies at Wellesley College, explores the unexplored aspect of race, and traces how Laroche’s story allows us to better understand the possibilities and limitations of black travel at the time of the Titanic tragedy.

The sinking of the Titanic in April 1912 generated a plethora of books, films, and exhibitions. But the tragic story of Haitian engineer Joseph Laroche (1886-1912), his French wife, and their children and descendants have been largely excluded from history. In this lecture, Carter Jackson explores the unexplored aspect of race, and traces how Laroche’s story allows us to better understand the possibilities and limitations of black travel at the time of the Titanic tragedy.

This program originally aired on March 6, 2021.