MIT Disobedience Award explained

The MIT Disobedience Award, given by the MIT Media Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was a $250,000 cash-prize award that recognized and honored the efforts of an individual or an organization whose ethical disobedience of authority resulted in a positive social impact.[1] The award was active from May 2017 to September 2019,[2] when it was cancelled after connections between the Media Lab and Jeffrey Epstein became public.[3]

The physical award was a glass orb, fabricated by MIT Media Lab professor Neri Oxman.[4]

The Disobedience Award was an international award, and individuals and organizations from all disciplines and specialties, including science, medicine, human rights, politics, law, journalism, and technology, were eligible for nomination.[5]

History

The Disobedience Award was created by former director of the MIT Media Lab Joi Ito and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman in July 2016.[6] In July 2017, the Media Lab presented the Disobedience Award to recipients Marc Edwards and Mona Hanna-Attisha to honor their efforts in exposing high levels of lead in the water supply of Flint, Michigan during the Flint Water Crisis.[7] [8] [9] In 2018, the annual award was presented to the founder of the

  1. MeToo
movement, Tarana Burke, and to BethAnn McLaughlin and Sherry Marts;[10] [11] who were recognized for activism in the
  1. MeToo
 movement and the #MeTooSTEM movement, and for efforts in combating sexual harassment and misconduct in science and in academia.[12] [13]

In September 2019, one of the awards' jurors Anand Giridharadas resigned after news came out involving Ito's associations with Jeffrey Epstein.[14] [15] MIT gave orbs similar to the glass orb that was part of the prize to both Epstein and Hoffman.

Recipients

YearNameAffiliation
2017Mona Hanna-Attisha and Marc EdwardsHurley Medical Center's Pediatric Residency Program and Charles Lunsford Professor of Civil Engineering
2018Tarana Burke, BethAnn McLaughlin, and Sherry Marts[16]
  1. MeToo
 and #MeTooSTEM Movements

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Scientists share MIT 'disobedience' award for #MeToo advocacy. Wadman. Meredith. 2018-11-27. Science AAAS. en. 2019-12-12.
  2. Web site: Disobedience Award. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200727030345/https://www.media.mit.edu/groups/disobedience-award/overview/. 2020-07-27. 2020-08-11. MIT Media Lab. Disobedience Award was active from May 2017 to September 2019..
  3. News: Hsu. Tiffany. Tracy. Marc. Griffith. Erin. 2019-09-05. Jeffrey Epstein’s Donations Create a Schism at M.I.T.’s Revered Media Lab. en-US. The New York Times. live. 2020-08-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20200629101436/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/business/media/mit-media-lab-jeffrey-epstein-joichi-ito.html. 2020-06-29. 0362-4331. Mr. Epstein’s contributions have already disrupted the lab’s work. It will not hand out this year’s Disobedience Award — a $250,000 prize that has recognized #MeToo activists and others “challenging the norms, rules or laws that sustain society’s injustices” — as Mr. Ito focuses on “healing the Media Lab community,” according to an email he sent that was reviewed by The Times..
  4. News: Salmon. Felix. 2019-09-12. Exclusive: Reid Hoffman apologizes for role in Epstein-linked donations to MIT. en. Axios. live. 2020-08-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20200703153150/https://www.axios.com/reid-hoffman-jeffrey-epstein-mit-donations-206d7254-e4dc-4079-9974-631fbe669b3d.html. 2020-07-03.
  5. Web site: Disobedience Award 2017: winners and finalists. 2019-12-12. MIT Media Lab.
  6. Web site: MIT announces $250,000 reward for 'disobedience'. Tousignant. Lauren. 2017-03-15. New York Post. en. 2019-12-12.
  7. Web site: Tech's Flint water professor wins MIT disobedience award, plans to give away prize money. Korth. Robby. 20 July 2017. Roanoke Times. en. 2019-12-12.
  8. Web site: 2016 Michigan State of the State Transcript. 19 January 2016. State of Michigan. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191018095844/https://www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/2016_Michigan_State_of_the_State_Transcript_511676_7.pdf. 18 October 2019.
  9. News: Snyder apologizes for Flint crisis, to release e-mails. Egan. Paul. 19 January 2016. Detroit Free Press. Gray. Kathleen.
  10. Web site: Women in science take on sexual harassment. www.asbmb.org. 2019-12-12.
  11. Web site: Tarana Burke, BethAnn McLaughlin, and Sherry Marts win 2018 Media Lab Disobedience Award. MIT News. 2019-12-12.
  12. Web site: MIT and LinkedIn co-founder award MeToo leaders. Insider. 2019-12-12.
  13. Web site: MIT Media Lab Disobedience Award, 2018. MIT Black History. en. 2019-12-12.
  14. Web site: Siemaszko. Corky. 2019-09-06. MIT Media Lab hit with Twitter tirade by writer upset over Epstein ties. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190906214641/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/writer-does-twitter-takedown-mit-media-lab-taking-money-jeffrey-n1050821. 2019-09-06. 2020-08-11. NBC News. en.
  15. Web site: Rogers. Taylor Nicole. 2019-09-08. LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman defended a former MIT official who accepted donations from Jeffrey Epstein. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200703233112/https://www.businessinsider.com/reid-hoffman-defended-mit-joi-ito-over-epstein-donations-2019-9. 2020-07-03. 2020-08-11. Business Insider.
  16. Web site:
    1. MeToo Leaders To Get MIT Disobedience Award
    . 2018-11-27. CBS Boston. en-US. 2019-12-12.

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