Kahne Lab Action statement
Introduction
The first iteration of this statement was written in the wake of nationwide protests against police violence in the summer of 2020. We are aware that this is only a recent development in the long history of systemic anti-Black racism in the United States. Unequivocally, we believe that Black Lives Matter, and that it is unacceptable to stay silent in the face of ongoing discrimination.
Many institutions are recognizing the need for growth and change that will upheave the structural inequalities that perpetuate racial discrimination. The Harvard community is also committed to facing these issues and working to improve our institution. As a lab, we would like to acknowledge the pervasive anti-Black racism in academia, STEM, and the Boston area in general. We know that we too are a work in progress. The alienation, exclusion and neglect of Black researchers has gone on far too long and we have all been complicit in the system that has allowed this to happen. We are committed to bettering ourselves, to fighting for racial justice, and to creating a place where Black and underrepresented minority (URM) students and researchers can feel comfortable and accepted as they pursue their scientific and career goals. We outline below the current and planned actions, within our lab, Harvard, and the greater academic community, that we are undertaking to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) both in the short and long term.
Within the Lab
We have established a rotating DEI committee tasked with three main roles: fostering a supportive and inclusive environment, enacting programs to actively combat the history of inequity and lack of diversity, and educating the lab about DEI-related issues. Each lab member will serve on this diversity committee at some point during their tenure in the lab; this requirement allows every lab member to develop skills, to contribute ideas, and to learn about the resources available to encourage diversity, equity, and inclusion. For those interested in learning more about these opportunities, graduate school life, the department, resources for URM groups, etc., please contact any current member of the Diversity Committee:
Clare Canavan - ccanavan@g.harvard.edu
Sebastian Rowe - srowe@g.harvard.edu
Erik Van Vlack - erik_vanvlack@fas.harvard.edu
We are actively working to educate ourselves about the history of scientists of color in Harvard and beyond since this history is often erased rather than celebrated. We know that teaching ourselves to celebrate URM researchers, past, present and future, as scientists and as people will take effort, as it cuts against the dominant, white-washed narrative in our culture. Members of the lab are encouraged to contribute a diverse range of reading materials to create a communal library within the lab that researchers can access on their own time for reference and self-education. Furthermore, members of the DEI team will send out a set of recommended readings twice a month to the lab at large. We also plan to set up a monthly journal club for group discussion of these readings. The readings will focus both on the erasure of those who have come before us, to understand how and why that history was ignored, and to celebrate the achievements and contributions of Black scientists; as well as on current DEI practices, their successes and failures, and how to implement them in our lab.
With these actions we want to develop a culture of active anti-racism and make our programs and our lab a safe and welcoming space for Black and other URM researchers. Instrumental to this process is listening to and taking the advice of Black researchers and leaders. We want to learn from these leaders to change our actions and create a lab space where Black scientists feel respected, comfortable, and a sense of belonging.
Within Harvard
We recognize that our commitment to support Black and URM researchers must extend beyond the environment of our own lab. A sense of belonging is important to everyone; however, Black graduate students face more institutional barriers to reach this feeling than their white peers. We understand that it is not sufficient merely to increase the diversity at Harvard; we also must work to support the current Black and other URM members of our community.
Mentorship and supportive professional relationships are instrumental to a sense of belonging. However, due to underrepresentation in STEM, Black students often face more uncertainty in the strength of their professional relationships. To intervene in this we as a lab will take a more active role in cultivating professional relationships both with other graduate students and postdoctoral fellows but also undergraduates.
It is a cultural phenomenon in our department for labs to socially isolate - even at “social” events comprising multiple laboratories. Knowing this, active and deliberate attempts to learn from, connect with, and build camaraderie with other students, fellows, and faculty must be undertaken. As such, the DEI committee in the Kahne lab is committed to organizing and planning events with other labs and faculty members to encourage a broader sense of community.
Within Harvard, we as a lab need to use our power to affect and support changes in hiring, recruitment, and retention practices. Institutional level changes to DEI policies are not simply one-off events; the changes must be evaluated and modified with time to best suit the goal of Black and URM at Harvard feeling a sense of belonging, ownership, and empowerment. To this end, we in the Kahne Lab must continue to keep DEI issues in the forefront of Harvard and help provide the institutions here at Harvard feedback to evaluate DEI programs. The goal must be to create a Harvard that hears, understands, supports, and empowers the Black and URM community members that it has and will continue to benefit from.
Within The Broader Academic Community
Furthermore, we as a lab and Harvard community need to recognize that there are systemic challenges for Black people in the USA at all levels of science education and industry. There are discrepancies in science preparedness for high school Black students trying to enter higher education that result from differences in opportunities and systemic bias. Additionally, Black undergraduates in STEM are more likely to leave their program without finishing a degree, and less likely to pursue an advanced degree. The rate of graduate and postdoctoral burnout shows that this effect continues at higher academic levels. We want to focus on bridging these opportunity gaps. We will work with high school, undergraduate and graduate level STEM students and workers to provide information about research opportunities and the graduate student and postdoc experience, and to provide those opportunities with recruitment and training programs.
Lab members will volunteer time to Harvard’s Health Professions Recruitment and Exposure Program (HPREP) and other programs which aim to combat inequities in high school education, helping to prepare the next generation of scientists.
We will also seek to provide opportunities for undergraduate students from non-research institutions to visit and work in our laboratory. We aim to build a network between Harvard and Historically Black Colleges and Universities to connect undergraduates with summer research opportunities and information about the graduate school experience and application process.
Finally, we will change our graduate and postdoc recruitment practices and conference selections, both as a lab and in the associated programs. We will initiate speaking engagements to advertise and recruit at various universities and conferences nationwide, with a particular focus on those that center Black and underrepresented minority scientists.
The Ongoing Work of Anti-Racism
This is a living document to reflect our commitment to challenging anti-Black racism in academia. Expect periodic changes to this document as we reflect on our work, consider where we need improvement, and make updates to reflect our progress and goals. You can find more DEI resources in our lab compact or by reaching out to our DEI committee (contact info above).