The hashtags that brought Black scientists together
>Online communities forged last year sparked collaborations and conversations about diversity and equity in academic research.
Virginia Gewin
>Virginia Gewin is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon.
https://www.nature.com/articles/forty-one thousand five hundred eighty six - zero twenty one - zero two thousand two hundred twenty-three - zero
Black researchers in dozens of scientific fields took to social media in 2020 to find, connect with and promote one another using hashtags such as #BlackinCancer, #BlackinPhysics, #BlackBotanists or #BlackinSTEM.
With each field of research taking centre stage for its own week of social-media events, the results challenged institutions to take meaningful steps to recruit more people of colour, and create a more welcoming academic environment to retain them.
These online initiatives were in response to racial unrest sparked by the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On 25 May 2020, the day that Floyd was murdered, a white woman made a false accusation of assault against Christian Cooper, a Black birdwatcher in New York City’s Central Park. What began with #BlackBirders week evolved into a succession of 20 #BlackinSTEM weeks that ran until December. They brought together global communities of Black scientists who plan to continue annual social-media events, and have even formed non-profit organizations dedicated to the task.
As the second year of such events gets under way, Nature interviewed five researchers who organized and took part in the #BlackinSTEM weeks. They discuss the impacts and rewards, including career opportunities, collaborations and meaningful institutional actions.
>Online communities forged last year sparked collaborations and conversations about diversity and equity in academic research.
Virginia Gewin
>Virginia Gewin is a freelance writer in Portland, Oregon.
https://www.nature.com/articles/forty-one thousand five hundred eighty six - zero twenty one - zero two thousand two hundred twenty-three - zero
Black researchers in dozens of scientific fields took to social media in 2020 to find, connect with and promote one another using hashtags such as #BlackinCancer, #BlackinPhysics, #BlackBotanists or #BlackinSTEM.
With each field of research taking centre stage for its own week of social-media events, the results challenged institutions to take meaningful steps to recruit more people of colour, and create a more welcoming academic environment to retain them.
These online initiatives were in response to racial unrest sparked by the murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On 25 May 2020, the day that Floyd was murdered, a white woman made a false accusation of assault against Christian Cooper, a Black birdwatcher in New York City’s Central Park. What began with #BlackBirders week evolved into a succession of 20 #BlackinSTEM weeks that ran until December. They brought together global communities of Black scientists who plan to continue annual social-media events, and have even formed non-profit organizations dedicated to the task.
As the second year of such events gets under way, Nature interviewed five researchers who organized and took part in the #BlackinSTEM weeks. They discuss the impacts and rewards, including career opportunities, collaborations and meaningful institutional actions.
