John Johnson (Harvard): This is not a diversity talk @ PSU Exoplanets 
Johnson: Often asked to give a "diversity talk" in association with colloquia... not what I like to do. Others have studied diversity and diversity promotion.
Johnson: "Diversity" from my perspective akin to "brightness" of stars - and, as in astronomy, I consider the underlying causes much more interesting & worth talking about
Johnson: So the talk today will be about a crisis in astronomy... not a recent one, a longstanding one.
Johnson: Cites "The Oatmeal" strip discussing cognitive biases that begins "You're not going to believe what I'm gong to tell you..." theoatmeal.com/comics/believe
Johnson: Scientists very much like to think of themselves as objective thinkers. But objectivity is actually just a tool, and we are not our tools... humans are humans first, emotional, irrational, etc
Johnson: Americans hold some core beliefs: "All people are created equal." (Within any two groupings, similar distributions of talents, interests, etc). And also: "We live in a meritocracy."
Johnson: So do the data support both of these hypotheses? Well, astronomy is 90% white, 0% Native American, order of magnitude suppressed relative to population in black & Hispanic 
Johnson: So if "we live & work in a meritocracy," then white astronomers must demonstrate the most merit. (Uncomfortable, and not often argued.)
Johnson: Alternatively, all people are created equal but we don't live and work in a meritocracy. Note: Let's not push it back at social inequalities - unless we believe these inequalities are just
Johnson: As a graduate student, realized that this is a question of fundamental science: Where are all the Black folks? And I started doing research to figure out some answers.
Johnson: Example sub-question: What is race? A question that comes up when watching NBA with my kids. Hard for kids to understand why some White-looking players are Black, and vice versa.
Johnson: We are socialized to draw these distinctions; however, race has no biological basis. It is a social construct. Note however: Does not mean it isn't real (see e.g. Golden Gate Bridge, also a "construct")
Johnson: Rather than ignore this social construct, let's ask: Why was race constructed?
Johnson: Historically, centuries if not millennia of contact between Europeans and other peoples predate the invention of race. Even colonization of the US precedes invention of race.
Johnson: Rather, race can be seen as a "divide and conquer" strategy adopted by landed gentry in response to threat of unified rebellion from multi-racial underclass, e.g. with Bacon's rebellion
Johnson: Carried forward to today, race has become a signifier of wealth and power. Every prestigious / powerful profession and status skews overrepresention of White people and 10x underrepresentation of Black & Brown people
Johnson: Within the 20th century: Federal home loans, GI Bill, WPA and many other programs either restricted to White people or administered to favor White people.
Johnson: As to Astronomy: White wealth + legacy admissions programs -> higher rates of education & attainment -> more White college students, professors -> GRE scores -> 90% White astronomy 
Johnson: Compare to US-Mexico border as social construct. Also real consequences: Undocumented workers who can be paid less, exploited, called "illegal" (a non sequitur)
Johnson: So what is racism? Fundamentally, the ordering of society such that White people have superior life outcomes compared to those of people of color.
Johnson: And what is race? Race is the ideology for why society is ordered in this way. Order of operations is important: Oppression via racism comes first, race (coded in law) comes second
Johnson: Present lack of diversity in Astronomy is thus seen as a manifestation of racism. (Not of racist actions by racist people, but of our racist society.) Astronomy exists as part of our society.
Johnson: Consequences of racism for science: Shrunken / restricted talent pool. Denying ourselves access to absolutely first-class minds. I have met them! They're smarter than me!
Johnson: But when I hear their stories, the barriers that have stood in their way, it brings tears to my eyes. And makes me determined to do whatever I can to remove those barriers.
Johnson: What can you do? Learn. Investigate why we talk about diversity so much, rather than causes. Be comfortable with idea that you have a lot to learn. Outward vs. Inward approaches. And once you've done your reading, take action.
Johnson: Reading assignments: Seeing White, White Like Me, Waking Up White
Johnson: At Harvard, have started the Banneker Aztlán Institute, after Benjamin Banneker (first professional astronomer in US) and the Aztlán people. 10 week summer program, research and study experience, prepare them for graduate study.
Johnson: Also at Harvard: After matriculating our second-ever Black astronomy graduate student in 2013 (first was in 1983), we have revamped grad admissions, now have a class that reflects US demographics - all brilliant.
