Dear Scientists: Is your research just?
Knowledge is power, and scientific research shapes and changes the world just as much as it describes the world. This thread is meant to help scientists reflect more critically on our own research and to mobilize science for justice.
Knowledge is power, and scientific research shapes and changes the world just as much as it describes the world. This thread is meant to help scientists reflect more critically on our own research and to mobilize science for justice.
To review, Western science, which is built upon the exploitation and oppression of Black people and communities, is one part of institutionalized racism.
But we can build a more just science. B/c #ScienceIsPolitical, scientists must reflect on the values embedded in their research, and choose the systems that their research works to uphold or dismantle. How does your science perpetuate white supremacy? How does it combat racism?
We’re sharing this thread as part of our Scientist Solidarity Drive, calling on non-Black scientists to support funds/orgs doing grassroots racial justice & abolition work.
Take a second before reading to click & contribute! Now matching up to $6110
Take a second before reading to click & contribute! Now matching up to $6110
As scientists strive to articulate truths, they often claim “objectivity:" the ideal of removing bias. Under the guise of objectivity, science tries to divorce itself from politics. But it’s in fact impossible to disentangle research from cultural, political, historical contexts
In claiming neutrality, science sides w/ the (oppressive) status quo. Want to understand this better? A couple places to start:
1) “Science Under the Scope” comic by @wangshuf freerads.org/science-scope-…
2) "Black Feminist Thought" by Patricia Hill Collins google.com/books/edition/…
1) “Science Under the Scope” comic by @wangshuf freerads.org/science-scope-…
2) "Black Feminist Thought" by Patricia Hill Collins google.com/books/edition/…
The traditional scientific method outlines research as: Question➡️ Hypothesis➡️ Experiment➡️ Observations➡️ Analysis➡️ Conclusion. But it doesn’t account for the embedded 🦋reasons for experimentation 🦋contexts of the experiments 🦋very real consequences of scientific research
Inspired by @Deboleena_Roy, let’s think through a community-based model of inquiry (in orange) that supplements the traditional scientific method (in blue).
We start by locating our research: Who is asking the questions? What perspectives are or aren’t present in who’s asking? Why are we asking the questions we’re asking?
Consider: Is the knowledge in your discipline by & for white communities considered serious or prestigious, while knowledge by & for communities of color & the Global South considered marginal?
Scientific priorities are often reflected in funding - usually, research that disproportionately benefits white, wealthy, and powerful communities is what gets funded.
For example, funding disparities between cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease disproportionately benefit white patients over Black patients:
jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…?
jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…?
Consider: What are your funders’ (stated and hidden) priorities? Are they just? Who do they serve? How might your research be used by funders? (Hint: If your research is being funded by the Department of Defense, it’s probably not entirely wholesome)
Community-led projects center the priorities, needs, and questions of those who experience oppression — and build on knowledge that’s been marginalized by Western science and white supremacy.
For example, the @HokuleaCrew revives the science and art of Polynesian Wayfinding through global sailing voyages around the world, while also promoting marine education, cultural exchange, and training a new generation of Polynesian wayfinders.
Black- and Indigenous-led agroecology projects like Black Earth Farms, Soil Generation, and @SoulFireFarm are advancing ecological, climate, and public health solutions grounded in anti-racism, reparations, and self-determination.
Next, we need to define the purpose of the research. Whose reality does our research affect and how? How might it shape/change the world?
@LaBucketBrigade uses low-tech air monitoring tools to empower people living near petrochemical refineries to collect air quality data. The impacted communities lead the data collection and reporting strategies. With affordable tools & inclusive data gathering, this approach…
...helps alleviate the massive power imbalance between industry and communities. Communities can use the data they've collected to communicate with policymakers, raise public awareness, advocate for compensation, and stop facility expansion.
Once you have a hypothesis, interrogate the assumptions and knowledge it is founded on
In our work with @stoplapdspying, for ex, listening to the impacted community rather than the academic literature revealed a more accurate & comprehensive framework.
A more socially just science also depends on close attention to dynamics of power throughout the research process. One common thread throughout much of the history of Western science has been the abuse of power by (white) researchers.
Many Western scientists conduct “parachute research,” both in the US and abroad, in which they extract data and knowledge from marginalized communities and give little or no credit/compensation to local communities and collaborators. qz.com/africa/1536355…
Tech solutionism and the "tech savior complex" describe the dominant tendency to privilege technologists and technology above knowledge and experience of marginalized communities and domain experts
Historical issues of inadequate consent processes, study participants having no access or say in how their data is used, and scientists being dishonest or failing to follow up in sharing their findings have led to distrust in communities made vulnerable by oppression
For ex, in 1990, a researcher named Theresa Markow collected genetic samples from the Havasupai, who live near the Grand Canyon, to research the tribe's high rates of diabetes. Years later, Havasupai learned their samples were being used in other studies. theatlantic.com/technology/arc…
In the ‘50s & ‘60s, Harris Isbell, a pharmacologist in Kentucky, did CIA-backed psychedelic experiments on incarcerated Black men, many w/ histories of addiction. He wanted to test how much LSD participants could tolerate, for how long. Some received LSD doses 77 days in a row.
Subjects signed simple consent forms & were often motivated by payment in the form of heroin. Isbell’s results were published in respectable journals. In Kentucky & elsewhere, Black communities today remain suspicious of psychedelics & biomedical research. whyy.org/segments/resea…
Power dynamics also manifest in savior complexes. @Rajiinio has spoken about the tech savior complex, saying technologists too often value their own perspective above over others’:
A group working to overturn dominant power dynamics by supporting & building up participatory #DataJustice & trusted modes of community safety is #OurDataBodies, by @Kimberland_1, @CombsThePoet, Tamika Lewis, Mariella Saba, Seeta Peña Gangadharan
#OurDataBodies collaborates w/ communities in Detroit, LA, & Charlotte, NC. A big part of their work is growing convos around how data systems impact the safety, privacy, & needs of marginalized folks. Peep their Digital Defense Playbook & other tools: odbproject.org/tools/
Marginalized ppl, esp women, have long created & used their own medical knowledge for healing & survival. This tradition is alive today w/ Black doulas providing essential support to Black parents who are less likely to receive adequate care in a racist mainstream medical system
Researchers in community organizations and universities are also challenging colonial research models. @MaxLiboiron directs the CLEAR lab, a feminist, anti-colonial lab that foregrounds values of equity, humility, & justice within their methods.
civiclaboratory.nl
civiclaboratory.nl
In Arizona, Indigenous communities have taken active leadership roles in genetic studies. Settler scientists serve more as temporary “consultants” or “stewards” of data, rather than owners of the research:
amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/41…
amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/41…
A third model of community-driven research is the “science shop,” a small, independent entity that carries out participatory scientific research on behalf of citizens and local civil society: freerads.org/2018/10/31/hat…
The incentive structures driving academia don't value or reward ethical, community-based practices. Community relationship building isn't typically considered scientific work. And too often, it’s marginalized folks who are expected to do this labor. All this needs to change.
The process of building a just and liberatory science starts at centering the perspectives of those marginalized by societal power structures. One step in transforming your research practice is to look for Black & other underrepresented knowledge creators who are doing work…
… related to yours, but whom you haven’t considered part of your scientific network. Consider knowledge sources beyond your training. You can start learning about some Black scientists and ways of knowing here. #CiteBlackSTEM #AmplifyBlackSTEM
Moreover, dismantling the harmful system of colonial science means fundamentally reevaluating not just who is doing science & making decisions, but also how science is done. To help you reflect on that, we’ll be sharing a Research Justice Worksheet w/ questions to ask yourself.
Finally, these examples reveal that strong community networks and organizations are necessary to lead socially just science! Start supporting and engaging with some of these organizations by donating and learning how to take action #ScientistSolidarity
#ScienceTwitter: To help you build a research justice framework for your own scientific work, we're offering five steps for self-reflection. We've also made this into a worksheet for you to share with your network at freerads.org/rj-worksheet! #ScienceSolidarity #ScienceIsPolitical
