A thread for PIs on supporting Black students:
I cried to my PI yesterday.
I was explaining that I’m trying my best. Even in the midst of all this, I am TRYING to be a good grad student.
I was trying to force myself to write my advancement document all last week. I couldn’t.
I cried to my PI yesterday.
I was explaining that I’m trying my best. Even in the midst of all this, I am TRYING to be a good grad student.
I was trying to force myself to write my advancement document all last week. I couldn’t.
I didn’t care about the experiments. I care more about Black lives being lost.
She empathized. She listened. As a white woman who openly admitted that she can’t fully understand how I feel, she heard my frustrations and concerns. But more than that, she offered concrete support.
She empathized. She listened. As a white woman who openly admitted that she can’t fully understand how I feel, she heard my frustrations and concerns. But more than that, she offered concrete support.
Here’s what she did for me:
1) listened - as I cried and became upset, she didn’t drown out my thoughts with her own
2) validated my emotions - she emphasized that my feelings are valid, it’s okay to not be “productive” right now, and that I’m still a great student
1) listened - as I cried and became upset, she didn’t drown out my thoughts with her own
2) validated my emotions - she emphasized that my feelings are valid, it’s okay to not be “productive” right now, and that I’m still a great student
3) asked what I need - she didn’t assume that she knew what would be best for me. She asked what I need in this moment
4) offered practical things that she can do - she asked if there are any experiments she can take off my plate so I can focus on my mental health. She also offered to email my committee to postpone my advancement so I didn’t have to worry about writing right now
5) asked what more she can do - she wants to help but didn’t know what to do or say. I gave her concrete suggestions on what I would like to see and hear from her and our department as a Black student. She’s now using her privileges and power to make my voice heard.
I was terrified to have this conversation. It could’ve gone so differently.
But now I’m grateful for it. I feel a little better, she’s a better advisor because of it, and we can have more open dialogues about race.
These conversations are uncomfortable. But they are necessary.
But now I’m grateful for it. I feel a little better, she’s a better advisor because of it, and we can have more open dialogues about race.
These conversations are uncomfortable. But they are necessary.
If you really care about your Black students, talk to them. Listen to them. Hear them.
We don’t want to feel like we can’t do this. That being Black is somehow inhibiting our academic progress. That we have to be silent about our emotions.
We don’t want to feel like we can’t do this. That being Black is somehow inhibiting our academic progress. That we have to be silent about our emotions.
These are simple things all PIs and advisors can do to ease the burdens on their Black students right now.
