Thread by @JohnCUrschel

This Wednesday, June 10th, in conjunction with #ParticlesForJustice, I am taking part in #ShutDownSTEM, a one day event for African Americans in STEM to rest, and for others to educate themselves and reflect. #BlackLivesMatter #BlackandSTEM 1/20
particlesforjustice.org

If you are a member of a scientific department, I would strongly suggest that you attempt to cancel all academic-related activity, so that your department can educate themselves and reflect on this issue, ideally together in some way. This is an issue which matters. 2/20

A lack of representation and inclusion hurts not only the African American community, but the scientific community as a whole. Missing out on the diverse and unique perspectives and potential scientific contributions of a large portion of the population hurts everyone. 3/20

I would like to outline a number of suggestions for Wednesday, and for going forward. First, if you are planning to take part in the day as a department via some group event, please do not make your Black members organize this. 4/20

If they want to help, great, (I am heavily involved in the organization for my department, by choice), but it should not be a necessity. Attempt to have deep conversations and true introspection regarding some difficult questions. 5/20

Some sample questions are as follows:
Why aren’t there more African Americans in STEM?
Why is the amount of AA undergrads, grad students, and tenure track faculty much lower than would be expected?
What role have we played in perpetuating these issues? 6/20

To what extent is our department a welcoming or unwelcoming place for African Americans in STEM?
What can we personally do to improve this situation?
These are indeed difficult questions, and try to avoid citing shallow and easy answers. 7/20

For instance, the phrase “pipeline problem” at this point has become a meme of sorts, and feels more like an easy answer than an attempt to lead change. One such (exaggerated) line of reasoning is as follows: 8/20

There aren't Black profs, bc there aren't qualified PhD students.
There aren’t Black PhD students, bc there aren't qualified undergrads.
There aren't Black undergrads, bc there aren't qualified hs students.
We don't teach hs, so what can we do? The pipeline strikes again. 9/20

But here’s the kicker. Sadly, one of the causes of a lack of undergraduates is that there is a lack of faculty and grad students with shared experience that care about them and can mentor them, and can create a long lasting welcoming environment in the department. 10/20

I would challenge you on Wednesday to ask yourselves the difficult and uncomfortable questions. One reading that I think is particularly well-suited to conversations for math departments in particular is the following Notices article. 11/20
ams.org/journals/notic…

I hope that your concern about this issue does not end on Wednesday. Think about what programs or initiatives your department or college could try to implement to improve the situation. 12/20

Two examples I’ve been lucky to be a part of are MathROOTS at MIT Math and the Millennium Scholars Program at PSU Science (based on Meyerhoff at UMBC). There are many different ways to take action. Even if you have programs like these, ask yourself if you can do more. 13/20

Another example (local to me) that could be of use is the following collection of recommendations for lasting change from groups at MIT (see bottom of page). 14/20 diversity.mit.edu/recommendation…

Moving beyond Wednesday, I would encourage you to create an open environment in which the underrepresented members of your community feel comfortable sharing their experiences without without facing doubt, derision, or a questioning of their motivations. 15/20

Right now it’s important to centralize the most marginalized and their experiences, as these are the experiences that typically go unheard by the larger community. (But again, please do not make them feel required to do so). 16/20

It is also important that conversations continue after the protests stop. Often, long lasting problems require long-term solutions and effort, and this is no exception. 17/20

I’m not the best person to talk about this, as there are many people who are more informed and have been talking about this for a long time (I spend just about all of my time on research, math mentorship, and my daughter). But, given my platform, I have a responsibility. 18/20

I hardly tweet and personally try to avoid social media like its COVID, but there's a number of amazing people who tweet often (and often around this issue), including @DrRubidium, @ThePurplePage, @am_anatiala, @JedidahIslerPhD, @IBJIYONGI, @doctor_talitha, and many others. 19/20

Thank you for taking the time to read this. It means a lot to me. 20/20