“What are the challenges faced by black scholars pursuing science?”

I want to outline various themes and the components of the black experience in the American scientific community in order to 1) help black scientists articulate their experiences and needs and 2) provide insight to the scientific community that will hopefully catalyze trans-formative strategies and widen consciousness of scientists. This comes out of personal experiences and knowledge about current racial demographics of the scientific community in the United States.

Framework

“What are the challenges faced by black scholars pursuing science?” Answers to this question fall into two categories. Structural barriers- obstructions that are apart of institutionalized processes and are necessary in order to complete science degrees, secure positions after undergraduate, gain admittance into graduate or post-bachelors programs, etc. Cultural barriers- obstructions carried out through interpersonal incidents and/or interactions that repel or completely deflect the trajectory of black scientists. Cultural barriers are sometimes illustrated through behaviors that have to be addressed more creatively and sometimes directly.

Central Tension

Tension between science’s claim to objectivity and black identity in scientific spaces: The black experience in science is in direct tension with how the scientific community constructs itself as objective. Any attempt to make visible racial discrepancies or bias is positioned in direct opposition to the objectivity claimed by the community. The suggestion that one might experience science differently based on race provokes skepticism of competency and ability to be objective.

Breakdown

• Scientists distance themselves from humanity by perfecting the art of ignoring emotions only when convenient for the dominant group of white and Asian males. Any challenge to that is a direct threat to the authority of that dominant group.

• Maintaining authority in the scientific community is equated with intellectual superiority of the dominant group. Inherent in science representation politics is the questioning of black competency and autonomy. If black people understood the importance of making their mark in science, then they would value science more and attempt to represent themselves in the scientific community more broadly.

• Women in science groups and programs tend to cater to women who identify as white or Asian in the scientific community. White and Asian women are marginalized by gender but privileged by race. In order to holistically understand the black experience in science, the position of black women is most essential. Woman in science has a silent (white) before it: (white) women in science. This silence only multiplies the racial privilege of white women and further marginalizes women of color. Unless women in science programs explicitly address the intersections of race and gender, black women are left marginalized within that context as well.

• Silence around identity reinforces the false illusion of objectivity and increases the friction in the black scholar’s scientific journey. Just like the silent (white) before women in science, there is a silent (white) and (male) implied in scientist. Continuing to silence it renders the white male identity normal and neutral, while any deviation from that is labeled as diverse. Diversity is positioned outside of the normal scientific community right along with marginalized groups of people. It is a cyclic effect; articulating racial identity at all acts against objectivity and therefore places you outside of scientific standards while silencing this articulation strengthens white dominance in science. Unless the silence around identity is broken in science spaces, black success in science is that much more difficult.

• Where do white male scientists get their support throughout their scientific career? This is the question that is not being asked. When black scientists request or seek support, it is perceived as requesting an extra helping on top of the standard ration. Some black students are made to feel that actively seeking mentors and examples of black scientists is distracting from their scientific trajectory and optional for their success in science. This response is only logical when the question of support for white male scientists is not on the table, when it is assumed that they did not need any support. All of the invisible and silent support given to them has been normalized and secured so much so that answering that question would reveal basic steps that can be taken to greatly relieve some of the challenges faced by black science scholars. Ask a white male scientist the first time he saw a scientist who looked like himself, and ask him when he learned white men have the autonomy to choose science as a career. That only begins the revealing of privilege and authority white males have been given in the scientific context. And in order to understand the black experience in science, line all of that support up against what would have been the experience of a young African American girl brought up in Detroit or a Nigerian immigrant raised in Boston.

in freedom,

Jamelle