Nearly 60 years after Dr. Chester Pierce gave us the language of microaggressions, we’re still using it because we’re still experiencing them. Maybe understanding the man behind the word can help us better understand one another.

I thought I understood the word microaggressions. Then I watched LIMITLESS: The Dr. Chester Pierce Story and sat down with director and producer Gloria Respress-Churchwell during the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival.

Dr. Chester Pierce was a Harvard-trained psychiatrist and physician, athlete, researcher, educator, mentor and humanitarian. His work took him from Harvard to Antarctica and even Sesame Street. Yet as impressive as his accomplishments are, I found myself thinking less about his résumé and more about the experiences that shaped the man.