In support of #ShutDownSTEM, #strike4blacklives and the anti-racism movement, we are shutting down TRANSFORM and the Software Underground on Wednesday 10 June, and clearing Wednesday's conference schedule.
The TRANSFORM 2020 virtual conference is officially underway. But as you know, there is a great deal of unrest in the world at the moment, particularly around the issue of racism and especially anti-black racism. The Software Underground has stated that we would do more to fight racism in earth science, and to strive to be the most diverse, inclusive community we can be.
On Friday, black academics in astronomy proposed action: a strike in science and technology of at least 1 day — Wednesday 10 June — in support of Black Lives Matter and the anti-racism movement. Please read this call to action: https://www.particlesforjustice.org/
It ends like this:
we call on people who are not Black to spend a day undertaking discussion and action that furthers this work, while providing Black scientists with a day of rest. Every single institution around the world can and should get involved in this work, and the strike marks an opportunity to recommit to the humanist values which should underpin academic work, including the belief that Black Lives Matter.
This, in turn, led to the #ShutDownSTEM action on Wednesday, which you can also read about via the Twitter hashtag.
There is also currently an open petition drawing attention to the same injustice, but in geoscience: Call for a Robust Anti-Racism Plan for The Geosciences (https://www.change.org/p/geoscientists-call-for-a-robust-anti-racism-plan-for-the-geosciences). This is the core of that document:
we humbly but firmly demand all geoscience societies and organizations take concrete action against racism – particularly the anti-Black racism that plagues our community – because written and/or oral denouncement does not go far enough.
This is more than just a petition, it is a call to clear, accountable action. It sets out what we can do, as individual scientists and as a society, to fight systemic racism in our field and beyond. Please consider signing it.
As for the events we had planned for Wednesday, we are still figuring out the new schedule. Wednesday's content will move to other days. The conversations will pick up again on Thursday. Then, over the coming months, we will find ways to act and make a difference. As part of our ambition to be a better and more inclusive society, we will plan events to discuss diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and justice.