Scientific community joins for the #Strike4BlackLives

Thousands in the world of science academia are striking today to reflect on and take action against anti-Black racism in the field. "[W]e believe an academic strike is urgently needed ... to give Black academics a break and to give others an opportunity to reflect on their own complicity in anti-Black racism in academia and their local and global communities," states the call for the #Strike4BlackLives, which was put out by Black physicists. Scientists from other fields have joined by calling to #shutdownSTEM and #ShutDownAcademia for the day, as have prominent journals — including some Nature journals and Science — and organizations such as AAAS and March for Science. Participants will abstain from any academic work, including teaching, research, and publishing new papers (in the case of journals). The call asks white and non-Black people of color to educate themselves and commit to concrete steps to combat anti-Black racism in and outside of their profession. "[T]hose of us with the most privilege have the greatest responsibility to use that privilege to enact change," the call states.