In this #TakeAction, we have shared what some of our leadership members will be reading and doing while we #Strike4BlackLives, and as we keep up this work. This list is by no means comprehensive, but rather a place to start. (THREAD) 1/ 500womenscientists.org/updates/2020/6…
We will continue our reading on what it means to defund the police — and how we can reallocate resources to invest in our communities. 2/ mpd150.com/resources/
This is a sampling of what we’ve been reading about the history of anti-Black racism in academia and STEM fields journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.10… by @IBJIYONGI 3/
For those with kids, see "Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup" 4/ prettygooddesign.org/blog/Blog%20Po…
Set an out-of-office reply for the day with a list of what you will be reading and/or doing to raise awareness around the strike and the need to root out anti-Black racism. 5/
Cancel your meetings and classes you teach on that day explicitly stating you’re participating in the #Strike4BlackLives, pledging to #ShutDownSTEM and #ShutDownAcademia. 6/ shutdownstem.com
Take the time to think about how to address anti-Black racism and advocate for anti-racism when you meet again. If you’re a data scientist, for example, think about how you can incorporate de-biasing analyses into your lesson plans, meetings, etc. 7/
Call on your department, committees, institutions, and scientific societies to make a statement in support of advancing racial justice and anti-racism, if they haven’t made one already. 8/ blogs.scientificamerican.com/voices/silence…
If they have made a statement, but it does not contain concrete actions they are taking, this is an opportunity to pressure them to explicitly state intended actions to ensure transparency and accountability. 9/
Create a concrete action plan for your university, organization or scientific society that includes firm timelines and explicit working groups. Outline of potential actions described in the “Call for Robust Anti-Racism Plan for the Geosciences”. 10/ change.org/p/geoscientist…
Consult with experts in the field and *pay them for their time and expertise*; if you borrow from existing curricula, cite your sources and compensate them for their work! 11/
Research how to establish a seminar for undergraduates and graduate students that will focus on how science was built on systemic racism, colonialism, and bigotry. 12/
Join or support organizations committed to anti-racism. ShutDownSTEM.com has compiled a list of some organizations. 13/ shutdownstem.com/organizations
Tap into local organizations that have been tracking legislations and budgets related to policing. Develop a plan for how you can support their work and get involved. 14/
Spend the day educating your children on how to be anti-racist and show them by example, at a protest and in daily interactions. 15/ centerracialjustice.org/resources/reso…
Decolonize your syllabi. Critically examine the scientists you amplify through your class readings, lectures, and activities. Spend the day finding more diverse voices in your field. Representation matters. 16/
Educate yourself on bystander intervention training and resources. Get started at ihollaback.org and find resources at ADVANCEGeo. 17/ serc.carleton.edu/advancegeo/res…
Evaluate your social media platforms and commit to following and amplifying perspectives from Black voices today, and every day. Follow the hashtag #BlackInTheIvory as one place to start. 18/
Join this Wikipedia Edit-a-thon to make the Internet less racist by creating and improving pages for Black STEMM professionals. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAI… 19/
As scientists, we are trained in doing the research. As members of @500womensci , we have pledged to apply that expertise to ensure that science is serving society by making science open, inclusive, and accessible. 20/
Eradicating anti-Blackness and rooting out systemic anti-Black racism is central to that mission and vision — and to the lives of our Black community. #BlackLivesMattters /end
