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Happy #BlackHistoryMonth !

I'm still not up to Black History! I'm still working through white US history. Bear with me! Almost there!

Q: Why does it seem like everything has to be woke now? Even our scientists?! It never used to be that way! Why does it seem like these days, even higher education has to think about race, when it didn't before?

A: Higher education, including STEM, did think about race before. That history has just been hidden from you. Because racism.

#BlackMastodon

#BlackHistoryMonth #BlackMastodon
mekka okereke :verified:
mekka okereke :verified:  
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An uninformed LA Times Opinion writer was big mad that UCLA asks faculty applicants to document their contributions to “equity, diversity and inclusion."

She asks, "If Albert Einstein applied for a professorship at UCLA today, would he be hired? The answer is not clear." She asks if his work would "reflect his contributions to equity, diversity and inclusion? Unlikely." Or his “potential to understand the barriers facing women and racial/ethnic minorities? Also unlikely."

🤦🏿‍♂️Umm.. yes it would.

Screenshot of LA times headline: Op-ed: UCLA's infatuation with diversity is a costly diversion from its true mission Screenshot of article text: A contemporary Einstein may not meet the suggested evaluation criteria. Would his "job talk" - a presentation of one's scholarly accomplishments - reflect his contributions to equity, diversity and inclusion? Unlikely. Would his research show, in the words of the evaluation template, the "potential to understand the barriers facing women and racial/ethnic minorities?" Also unlikely. Would he have participated in "service that applies up-to- date knowledge to problems, issues and concerns of groups historically underrepresented in higher education?" Sadly, he may have been focusing on the theory of general relativity instead. What about "utilizing pedagogies addressing different learning styles" or demonstrating the ability to "effectively teach and attract students from underrepresented communities"? Again, not at all guaranteed.
Screenshot of article text: If Albert Einstein applied for a professorship at UCLA today, would he be hired? The answer is not clear. Starting this fall, all faculty applicants to UCLA must document their contributions to “equity, diversity and inclusion.” (Next year, existing UCLA faculty will also have to submit an “equity, diversity and inclusion statement" in order to be considered for promotion, following the lead of five other UC campuses.) The mandatory statements will be credited in the same manner as the rest of an applicant's portfolio, according to UCLA's equity, diversity and inclusion office.
This entry was edited (6 months ago)
mekka okereke :verified:
mekka okereke :verified:  
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As previously mentioned, here's what Einstein had to say about segregation:

"There is a separation of white people and colored people in the United States. That separation is not a disease of colored people. It is a disease of white people. I do not intend to be quiet about it."

For the last 20 years of his career, Einstein declined almost all public speaking engagements, except those at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

This photo was taken at Lincoln University, an HBCU.

Albert Einstein stands in front of a blackboard in a room full of Black men at Lincoln university, teaching a graduate class in physics.
This entry was edited (6 months ago)
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