CSR Against anti-black racism:
A scientific perspective

We, the Executive Board of the Columbia Science Review, openly and firmly condemn anti-Black racism, and we stand in solidarity with all those currently protesting in the name of justice and long-due change. We are horrified by the senseless murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless others within the Black community whose voices and lives were cut short by police brutality and hatred. We denounce the racist systems that hinder effective education, impede economic success, and perpetuate violence against people of color.

As a science organization, we emphasize that even science, which is meant to be the most objective system of information, is not immune to racism or prejudice. Just as the intentions of scientific inquiry can be steered towards empowerment and constructivism, they can and have been steered towards intolerance and discrimination. Early discriminatory practices of phrenology, former categorization of homosexuality as a disorder, the infamous Harvard Educational Review study proposing genetic factors of inferior intelligence in Black Americans – the list is endless. If we don’t recognize the bias that we bring to scientific inquiry, we will only further derail its objective intentions.

Racism in science is not just a thing of the past: the underrepresentation of Black people is and has always been a serious problem in the STEM community. According to a 2017 study, an overwhelming 76% of full-time university faculty were White, while Black faculty only accounted for under 4% of positions. In addition, Black faculty earn significantly lower salaries compared to White faculty, even when controlling for experience. Similar disparities also exist in the commercial sector. It is blatantly clear that much more must be done to address the roots of these disparities, so we take this opportunity as a call to action, starting with our own organization.

As a student organization at a private institution, we acknowledge that we have benefitted from conditions that uphold racist systems in academia. Therefore, CSR vows to do everything within our power to help our community overcome the many well-concealed barriers of racism that still remain standing, so here are some of the concrete steps we are taking:
  • We recognize that the makeup of our board is largely White and Asian, and has consistently been so over the past few years. While we have met with CCSC to discuss diversity, we admit that we have not made the changes necessary to actively build diversity on the board. We will discuss our shortcomings together with university resources, reforming our recruitment process to make sure every BIPOC student knows that their voice is wanted and needed in CSR. During all our future recruitment cycles, we will double down on outreach to clubs that promote diversity in STEM here on campus.
  • We will continue to hold events that rigorously scrutinize the interactions between science and society. Science has been used to perpetuate anti-Blackness, but at the same time it can also be used to dismantle it. We will not enclose ourselves within the STEM bubble, and we want to continue discussions on how science shapes the social structures that govern our everyday lives.
  • As we search for speakers and panelists for our events, we will make sure that we are actively searching for and amplifying the scientific voices of the BIPOC community.
Most importantly, we welcome critique and feedback from everyone. Complacency can no longer have a place in CSR, so please do not hesitate to hold us accountable and help us improve.

Below we have compiled a list of organizations where anyone can donate to support the fight against anti-Black racism/STEM education for communities that are critically underserved. We have also put together further readings so that people can learn more about the interactions between science and racism. Please consider donating and/or volunteering to help make a difference.
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Links to Donate:  Petitions to Sign: Sources/Further Reading: