While racism is very apparent in the world today, many don’t realize how prevalent it is within academia as well. Not only have I experienced this myself, but I have many friends with countless stories of their own. The reality is that I have experienced and witnessed racism and discrimination at almost every single school I have attended. It’s always a matter of exterior judgement. Does that student look professional? Does this student look “college ready?" Does that student look like they could be in higher classes? Throughout my public school experience I was classified as "gifted" and although anyone could technically take the tests to be in these "gifted" programs, the demographic was completely discriminatory. Not only was I literally the only black person, I was one of very few females. Because there was no representation of black people in these types of classes, I felt like an outsider, and was seen this way as well. At a volunteer event outside ...

#SHUTDOWNSTEM Many of you are aware of the #ShutDownSTEM movement planned for today, June 10th, 2020. In the Arizona State University School of Life Sciences, we stand with the STEM community at ASU, and with scientists across the world to “transition to a lifelong commitment of actions to eradicate anti-Black racism in academia and STEM.”   Our Teaching Innovation Team will be taking the day to read, listen and consider how we as individuals, and as a team, can make a positive change for more diverse and inclusive learning environments for our Black colleagues and students. We are grateful to Sara Brownell and her research group for promoting this movement, and encourage our readers to look at the research they are doing in the area of biology education and inclusion at: http://sebbers.wixsite.com/biology-ed-lab We urge our readers to take time from their day, and consider a way to participate that is meaningful and appropriate to your situation. Below are some resourc...