“Black scientists respond to Scalia’s suggestion that they took ‘less advanced’ classes”
“Elizabeth Wayne holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in biomedical engineering from Cornell University.
Wayne, who is black, told The Times that if her white classmates performed poorly, professors might offer them tutoring or coveted research opportunities to help to get them up to speed. “They would give them the benefit of the doubt,” she said.
She felt she did not have that luxury. “I had to be at the top of my class, or people would think I didn’t belong there,” she said…
the MIT report also suggests that a large hurdle facing black scientists is that schools simply don’t think they belong.
The study found that more than half of black faculty members reported being mistaken for support staff, and nearly half of all black male faculty members reported being mistaken for a trespasser — someone who did not belong on campus at all.”
THIS. This is why I find it so stressful to ask questions in class, or admit when I don’t understand an experiment. It’s that thing where I walk into my lab building and people give me a confused look as they see me pass by — it’s likely unconscious, but it happens a couple of times a week and it makes me want to wear a sign that says “I’m a grad student, chill”.
When I first read Scalia’s comments, I just felt hollow. Because I’ve heard all of that before and I’ve internalized it — not so much as something I believe but as something I know other people are going to believe about me. Evidently including a Supreme Court Justice who is somehow respected as an unbiased legal expert capable of deciding on a case about the educational needs of people of color.
(as a side note — I’ve read some of Scalia’s writing in a few courses, and I enjoy reading them. I think that I would like him if we met in person. He is obviously tremendously intelligent, and he also seems witty and kind. Of course, however, I find his opinions to be severely lacking in perspective and potentially dangerous to my experiences as a woman of color in this country. So, while I would be thrilled to meet him, I don’t think I would want to get into a conversation about politics).
Related: Neil DeGrasse Tyson one; an essay one of the people quoted in the article; “Pushing Women and People of Color Out of Science Before We Go In”; “Top Science Publisher Failing Minority Groups, Industry Leaders Say”
