Making Geosciences Antiracist

“It is not now, nor has it ever been, the most vulnerable folks’ job to fix structural oppression.” Dartmouth College astrophysicist Jedidah Isler

In the wake of the recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Dion Johnson, and Ahmaud Arbery, people across the nation and around the globe are voicing their long-held frustration with institutions that perpetuate racism and racial inequity. Within the geosciences, there is also a long-held and growing frustration with our own institutions and communities, and the lack of real progress toward racial equity and mutual respect.This past week, the American Geophysical Union (AGU) signed A Call to Action for an Anti-Racist Science Community from Geoscientists of Color: Listen, Act, Lead. 

The authors of this call to action express concern with the lack of leadership in the sciences to address the prevalence of racism and inequity in our communities, and they propose specific, actionable strategies to transform the geosciences and help create an anti-racist scientific community. These strategies require commitment and decisive anti-racist action—by each of us as individuals, and by the leadership of science organizations, societies, agencies, and institutions. Being passively “not racist” has not changed anything: The data are in, they are conclusive, and they are undeniable.

Please see the special topic section in EOS to address systemic racism and persistent inequality in the geosciences.