Race and Science: A Dialogue on the Issues," the first of four discussions planned as part of Race and Science: What's the Connection?, provided a comprehensive introduction to the issues that will be more fully examined during upcoming events in the two-month series. In opening remarks during the March 3 panel discussion held in Gamble Auditorium, Sean Decatur noted that the series unites two strong MHC traditions -- excellence in the sciences and strength in addressing issues of diversity. Decatur, assistant professor of chemistry and co-organizer of Race and Science, said that the series will "bring these two aspects of community life together."
In this first session, the focus of Decatur and two guest speakers was on three interfaces at which the social categories of race and science intersect. The impact of science and technology on communities of color was the first "interface" to be discussed. Speaker Anthony Walton, a writer-in-residence at Bowdoin College, examined the ways in which technology has historically had a negative impact on the political and economic advancement of African Americans and proposed that the embracing of technology and science education by African Americans should be seen as a political and economic necessity. Walton offered a vivid account of the African American experience over the last four hundred years. Drawing largely on an Atlantic Monthly article he authored in January 1999, he described the ways in which technology has widened the gulf between African Americans and majority groups that have reaped its benefits.
The second interface revolved around the makeup of the scientific community: Who does science? What is the racial makeup of the scientific community? Why are some racial groups considered underrepresented? What have policy efforts done to address these issues? This was the topic of a talk by Willie Pearson Jr., a sociologist whose research involves detailed analysis of the question in terms of race, gender, field of study, and education.
Pearson presented statistical data showing the degree of underrepresentation in the sciences of Latinos, African Americans, Native Americans, and women. He noted that in 1997, only about thirty of the nearly 1,500 Ph.D.s in chemistry awarded in the United States went to African Americans. He also raised the question of whether programs that are meant to increase the number of minorities in the sciences work. Though many programs (at the undergraduate and graduate level) have been developed since the 1970s, the number of minorities in the sciences has not significantly increased. Pearson attributed the lack of success of these programs to deficiencies in K-12 education, as well as to the varying quality of these programs. The most successful ones, he said, have a strong commitment to upholding high expectations and standards among students and offer them a chance to have hands-on research experience.
Decatur addressed the question of how race and science are interrelated. He outlined ways in which science is a product of its social context--noting that since issues of race and racism are a part of our culture, it is inevitable that science can reflect racist ideas or respond to racist directives.
The next event in the series will be held March 22.
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