June 10, 2020 #ShutDownSTEM movement

The MIT Mathematics Department gathered together on June 10, 2020 as part of the #ShutDownSTEM movement. This page provides materials from that event for those who were not able to attend, as well as resources for those who want to learn more and take action.

Pre-event readings

• For a Black mathematician, what it’s like to be the ‘only one’, by Amy Harmon.
• The role of professional societies in STEM diversity by Vernon R. Morris and Talitha M. Washington.
• This is what Black burnout feels like, by Tiana Clark.
• White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh.
• What to say and read to your children right now about race, by Marcella White Campbell.

Program

The plenary session began with opening remarks from Michel Goemans followed by three readings: Langston Hughes’ Harlem, read by Tom Mrowka; Maya Angelou’s Caged Bird, read by Haynes Miller; and Ross Gay’s A small needful fact, read by Elise Brown. We then observed 8 minutes and 46 minutes of silence in memory of George Floyd, with a preface from Henry Cohn. During this time a scrolling list of some recent victims of anti-Black violence was shown. We then heard an excerpt from Ijeoma Oluo’s book So you want to talk about race, read by Peter Haine.

We then split into five breakout sessions (slides are linked below):

• Anti-Racism for Newcomers
• Mathematics and Policing
• Race and Incarceration in the U.S.
• The Economics of Racism
• Anti-Blackness at MIT

After rejoining the plenary session, we heard summaries of the discussions from representatives of each session, followed by final remarks and calls to action from Drew Sutherland and Michel Goemans.

Resources

Links to resources related to each of the breakout sessions are listed below. You may also find this glossary of terms useful.

Anti-Racism for Newcomers

• White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh.
• Stereotype threat in African American children: The role of Black identity and stereotype awareness, by Kristal Hines Shelvin, Rocío Rivadeneyra, and Corinne Zimmerman.
• U.S. Black history and civil rights refresher, History.com.

Mathematics and Policing

• The activist dismantling racist police algorithms, by Tate Ryan-Mosley & Jennifer Strong (MIT Technology Review).
• Predictive policing explained, by Tim Lau (Brennan Center for Justice).
• Machine bias, by Julia Angwin, Jeff Larson, Surya Mattu and Lauren Kirchner (ProPublica).
• Algorithmic Justice League, MIT Media Lab project.

Race and Incarceration in the U.S.

• Opening the lid on criminal sentencing software, by Robin A. Smith (Duke Today).
• The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness, Michelle Alexander and Cornel West (ebook available with MIT credentials).
• 13th, a documentary about racial inequality and the U.S. prison system by Ava DuVernay.
• The Educational Justice Institute, MIT website.

The Economics of Racism

• Nine charts about wealth inequality in America, the Urban Institute.
• The case for reparations, by Ta-Nehisi Coates (The Atlantic).

Anti-Blackness at MIT

• 2010 Hammond report and scorecard, Initiative for Faculty Race and Diversity, MIT.
• 2015 BSU scorecard, MIT Black Students Union.
• 2015 BGSA recommendations and scorecard, Black Graduate Students Association at MIT.
• 2015 ICEO report and scorecard (requires MIT credentials), Institute Community & Equity Office, MIT.

Further reading and listening

• MIT Libraries racial justice and anti-racist resources (ebooks and films available with MIT credentials).
• White fragility: why it’s so hard for White people to talk about racism, by Robin DiAngelo (ebook available with MIT credentials).
• How to be an antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi (ebook available with MIT credentials).
• The 1619 project, New York Times Magazine.
• Code Switch, podcast series from National Public Radio.

Actions the department is taking

• Improve the Diversity page to highlight first-person narratives from math students/faculty from underrepresented groups, facilitate peer mentorship opportunities, and include links to information about department and Institute resources for diversity/equity/inclusion.
• Establish a clear channel for members of the department to give feedback.
• Create a new group “Black mathematicians at MIT” including undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and other members of the MIT mathematics community, and create a new section on the department website for it.

Actions you can take

• Justice in June, a reading/listening/viewing guide for the month of June to become more informed; there are plans that take 10, 25, or 45 minutes/day including concrete steps you can take to help.
• Join the reading seminar organized by Peter Haine and Tom Mrowka to read and discuss An inclusive academy: Achieving diversity and excellence, by Abigail J. Stewart and Virginia Valian. The plan is to meet each Wednesday at 8 pm, starting June 24.