White supremacy and science

“White supremacy is not a shark; it is the water”.   I saw this quote on a sweatshirt for sale in Provincetown this past summer.  It summed things up so elegantly that I tracked the source, and traced it to the website of a Minneapolis poet and activist, Kyle “Guante” Tran Myhre.  If you are interested, his website is https://guante.info/about/.

The hard truth is that we swim in a sea of white privilege, a situation to which most of us (particularly white males) are happily oblivious.   People of color do not have this option, and they are constantly reminded, often harshly, of the unpleasant reality. 

What can scientists do to contribute in a positive way to a change in the culture?   Science is not immune to white supremacy: One need only look at the list of Nobel Prize winners to see the truth in this.  While several women have been awarded the Prize in recent years, the overwhelming majority of winners of the science Prizes are white males.

Admittedly, most scientists prefer to avoid the issue.   “Just leave me alone.  I have to go work in the lab”.   However, the laboratory can be an ideal incubator of inclusiveness if handled properly.  People working side by side need to reach a modus vivendi in order to accomplish anything.   But the research director needs to be conscious of the “sea”, avoiding making judgments about a person based solely on race or background.   Expectations should be uniform, and treatment, both privately and in a group setting, should be even-handed.   We teach by example more than our words.  Just as children learn from their parents, our advisees watch us and learn.  We must make sure that they learn a new way.

Of course, diversity in the laboratory requires a diverse recruitment effort.  The “pipeline problem”, that is, a lack of a diverse pool of candidates for graduate school and faculty recruitment, needs to be attacked at the undergraduate, high school and even grade school levels.     

Public schools that serve primarily underrepresented populations are often lacking in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) facilities, and many lack course offerings that might stimulate interest in STEM careers.  Most scientists can point to a particular teacher in high school who kindled and nurtured their interest in science.  The importance of role models in guiding students into STEM and medical careers cannot be overstated.  Professional scientists can help in this regard, at least in the near term, by volunteering at schools to provide simple demonstrations designed to catch the eyes and imaginations of students.   I have found that, by and large, high school teachers are enthusiastic about arranging such events, and student response is generally positive.   Of course, liquid nitrogen ice cream, smashing frozen roses and something that goes “bang” helps.  I still remember vividly from my grade school years a demonstration at our school from a NASA scientist.  He poured liquid oxygen on a sponge soaked with burning alcohol, turning the sponge into a small version of a rocket exhaust.      

 At the college undergraduate level, courses need to be reconsidered in terms of their ability to attract and retain underrepresented students.  For too long, introductory STEM courses have been viewed as “gatekeepers”, preventing entry into the STEM and health-related fields to those without the background to do well in them.  One approach to improving accessibility in such courses is the make testing a less high-stakes issue.   Rather than one or two midterms, with a final exam, teachers can consider spreading assessment more evenly over a term, perhaps with weekly quizzes or on-line tools, so that students can find out where their weaknesses are and deal with them quickly, rather than finding out because of a failed exam.

Another problem that needs to be dealt with is exclusion.  The tendency for students to gravitate to study groups and informal sessions made up of people of similar race or background is natural but exclusionary.  Students of color often find themselves without the support that such networks provide.  The instructor can at least try to circumvent this by formally assigning study groups and group projects that are designed to be diverse. 

Finally, research advisors must make an extra effort to recruit undergraduates of color into their laboratories.  It is true that there are more students wanting to do research than there are positions available, and often it is the most aggressive students who get those slots.   Given a culture where people of color are not rewarded (and often punished) for aggressiveness, it is not surprising that so few of them end up in laboratories at the undergraduate level.   It is here that an active effort to encourage students of color to take full advantage of what science has to offer would pay dividends, not only to the sciences, but to to society.