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Symposium

Session: Unpacking the ecosystem of systemic racism experienced by Black Ecologists

SYMP 8-2 - Promoting community within and across professional stages

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

3:50 PM – 4:10 PM EDT

Location: 520F

Presenting Author(s)

ZL

Zakiya H. Leggett, PhD

Asst Professor - Dept. of Forestry and Environmental Resources
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

Co-author(s)

NH

Nyeema C. Harris, PhD

Yale University
New Haven, CT, United States
AH

Alexandra Harmon-Threatt

University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
AM

Alex Moore

University of British Columbia, United States
SH

Samniqueka Halsey

Assistant Professor
University of Missouri, United States
KB

Karen Bailey, PhD

Asst. Professor
University of Colorado Boulder, United States
JC

Jasmine Childress

University of California Santa Barbara
KW

Kwasi Wrensford

University of California, Berkeley, United States
SG

Swanne Gordon, PhD

Washington University in St. Louis, United States
NK

Nana Kusi

Washington University in St Louis
MM

Maria N. Miriti, PhD

Professor of Ecology
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio, United States

Background/Question/Methods
A sense of community is a feeling that we have as it relates to belonging as well as a feeling of being valued and heard. Only a small percentage (2.5%) of PhDs granted in Ecology and Evolution are to Black scholars. This has resulted in the number of Black ecologists entering the field growing at an excruciatingly slow pace. In a discipline with this level of underrepresentation, recruitment and retention of Black trainees at all levels (undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral), is both critical and extremely difficult. This is often due to conscious and unconscious racism and bias operating within institutions and individuals. Therefore, a sense of community is necessary in the success of Black ecologists through all training stages and advancement levels. However, many of us still only operate as “outsiders within” and this severe lack of Black ecologists hinders progress towards a more diverse discipline.

Results/Conclusions
There are several general challenges that compromise belonging that permeate all stages of training and can therefore hinder success: isolation, mentorship and professional climate. We will unpack some of these issues as well as provide some strategies to combat them.

We must develop novel strategies to create community and overcome feelings of isolation which impacts the sense of belonging and the ability to envision long-term success in the field. This isolation can ultimately reduce retention and eventually creates a severe bottleneck into senior scientist positions. The results is often that student and early career Black ecologists, in general, sometimes find themselves without access to mentors with shared identities or with the cultural understanding, training, and awareness to respond to their unique experiences and needs. Persistent marginalization of Black ecologist trainees and professionals presents unique challenges that are compounded by a professional culture rooted in white supremacy that makes retention exceptionally difficult. The goal of our work is not to engender empathy, but rather action.