Thread by @Katrina13J

Happy weekend! Lots of people are anxiously awaiting the #JWST images releasing Tuesday. (I've seen them and they're pretty cool!) But did you know many astronomers want to #RenameJWST?

Learn more in this documentary I produced for the @JustSpaceOrg:

I produced the 40-minute JustSpace Alliance documentary in consultation with historians, the authors of the petition, members of the @AAS_Office’s @AasSgma, and queer astronomers across several countries.

NASA Policy Directive 7620 (nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayDir.cfm…) requires a committee to provide naming recommendations for any major NASA project, with input from "the responsible NASA Centers and contractors."

In 2002, NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe went against this policy and made a unilateral decision to rename the Next Generation Space Telescope after James E. Webb. No one in the astronomical community, the public, or international partners on the project had any say in the name.

Jim Webb was Undersecretary of State from 1949 to 1952, where he worked on using science as a tool for foreign relations, and requested the Project Troy study on psychological warfare and implemented its findings.

Webb was second-in-command while the State Department investigated and fired hundreds of employees for being suspected homosexuals, inspiring practices and polices that spread throughout the federal government, which continued under his leadership at NASA.

There are documents available detailing a few of Webb’s conversations with President Truman and Senator Hoey on the Senate’s investigation into homosexuals at the State Department, as well as documents on NASA’s firing of Clifford Norton in 1963.

NASA’s history department has been conducting an investigation into Webb’s role in the Lavender Scare. Last Oct, before the historians could even access the Archives (which were closed due to COVID,) Admin. Nelson announced they found no evidence that warrants changing the name.

After a lot of backlash, and internal emails published through @alexwitze's FOIA request, Astrophysics Division Director Paul Hertz stated during a town hall meeting in April that the investigation was still ongoing, and they hoped to regain the astronomy community’s trust.

Now, NASA has stated the researchers have concluded the investigation, and still are asserting there’s no evidence.

But this dismisses all the information we already have, such as the legal documents from Clifford Norton’s case testifying that it was a “custom within the agency” for NASA to investigate and fire suspected gay employees during Webb’s tenure.

The NASA Astrophysics Advisory Council, the American Astronomical Society, and over 1,800 petition signatories have all expressed concern about the JWST name.

At every turn, Admin. Nelson has been dismissive of the astronomical community, particularly LGBTQIA+ astronomers. Studies have shown that queer people in STEM have fewer career opportunities, face more harassment and health difficulties, and are more likely to leave the field.

A recent center survey at Goddard showed that 64% of LGBTQ+ employees are not comfortable being out at work. The telescope name and the repeated dismissal of concerns is yet another reminder that queer employees are not considered equals at NASA.

It may seem trivial, but this is a gigantic international collaboration that will be changing the face of astronomy for decades to come, and the name matters. The name should inspire the same spirit of scientific exploration and shared humanity as the telescope itself.

NASA projects get renamed all the time, and there’s absolutely no need to keep the James Webb name. Tell Administrator Nelson that he needs to watch the documentary and engage in a real, honest, and transparent dialogue about the telescope name.

Full works cited, documents, and other references are available at the below link, as well as b-roll and images content creators can use to help spread the word!
drive.google.com/drive/folders/…

#RenameJWST #QueerInSTEM #UnfoldTheUniverse

Adding on here with a clip from the documentary with @Astro_Wright, @RocketToLulu & @yaoyuanmao talking about the name, and thoughts from @IBJIYONGI and @solarrsystem on renaming it after Harriet Tubman. #RenameJWST

(Full video: )

Absolutely! So much credit goes to @IBJIYONGI. Everyone should watch Chanda talk more the origins of this conversation at this timecode:

And read her "Harriet Tubman, Astronomer Extraordinaire" here: msmagazine.com/2022/02/03/har…