Black chemists are adding their voice to calls of systemic racism in academia and STEM fields. Here's what they say needs to change in their fields. Wochit

About 4.6% of chemistry graduate students in 2016 who were U.S. citizens or permanent residents were Black or African American, according to data in aNational Science Foundation report.

And about 5.5% of people employedas chemistswere Black orAfrican American in 2017.

This summer, Black chemists in Indiana, along with scientists across the country,have been raising the public's awareness of the systemic racism that results inBlack people beingunderrepresented in STEM. Somechemists participated in #ShutDownSTEM, an international strike that drew attention to systemic racism in academia. And some have been using Twitter and other social media to connect with each other.

Felicia Fullilove, a program manger for a non-profit organization,said African Americans have beenunderrepresented in chemistry because of systemic racism andaccess to STEM careers. Fullilove, whoholds a B.S. in chemistry from Butler University and a PhD in chemistry from Emory University, said a lack of Black mentors is also an issue.

Ren Robinson, an associate professor of chemistry at Vanderbilt University, said in some instances aspiring Black scientists start down the STEMpipeline,but drop off at different points. The environment at STEM institutions and organizations is an issue some encounter in the pipeline.

"Historically, science and especially ... these kinds of chemistry professionshaven't been as inviting for diverse groups to be part of," she said.

Fullilovenoted Indiana's own history.

"PercyJulian attended DePauw University, but he wasn't allowed to live on campus," she said of Julian, who earned his undergraduate degree from DePauw in 1920."He'sone of the greatest chemists of all time."

Fullilove said that until the culture of the field of chemistry shifts and it becomes truly inclusive and welcoming,the numbers of Black chemists will not increase. She also said that universities have to both recruit and retain Black students, faculty and staff.

"If you're going to recruit them and not retain them," she said, "then you have this leaky pipeline issue."

Chemists in Indiana and elsewhere have protested systemic racism this summer.

Atheena Jenkins, a chemistry PhD student at Purdue University, helped organize the Purdue Chemistry Black Lives Matter March on Juneteenth this year. She said the march was meant to raise awareness about systemic racism in the environment at Purdue. Social interactions between individuals such as professors, students and administrators are a part of systemic racism, she said.For example,advisors have a long-standing history of treating students unequally because of ethnicity or nationality.

During the event,shegave a speech to the crowd, which was a bit nerve-wracking for her.

But also kind of powerful, I guess, for lack of terminology, Jenkins added. I had everyones attention, and in that moment, I could just speak my mind. And lately I havent been giving myself the space to speak my mind, especially on issues like these.

Her speech alluded to the fact that people cant dismantle the entire system you kind of have to take it off brick by brick, she said. And one of those bricks is microaggressions, she added. Her speech led into an exercise that taught the crowd about microaggressions.Jenkins believes that one of the microaggressions mentioned wassomeonebeing surprised at how well a Black person or person of color spoke.

Earlier in the month, on June 10, many scientists didnt go to their labs as part of #ShutDownSTEM and #Strike4BlackLives. Particles for Justice, one of the groups that organized the day, wrote on its website that the strike was necessary to hit pause, 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.

Carolina Vega, a PhD student and analytical chemist at IUPUI, said no one in her research group went to their lab that day. Her group had a Zoom meeting, though, where she and her colleague talked about their experience being Black.

One thing that we try to do is just to make people conscious that we suffer stuff that a lot of people dont realize that is a thing, she said.

Carolina Vega works on research in a lab in the IUPUI Science Engineering and Technology Building II, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. She is a third year analytical chemistry PhD student at IUPUI. (Photo: Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar)

Social media has been a way for Black scientists to connect with each other. Black chemists from across the country posted about their research on Twitter the week of Aug. 10 as part of #BlackInChem week.

Ore Cherebin scrolled through the #BlackInChem posts during the week.She saw photos of Black women with their natural hair in the lab.

There are rules about how you should have your hair in the lab, but obviously my hair isnt what they were talking about when they created the rules how long ago, she said. So its comforting to see people rocking their natural hair in the lab, for me personally.

Vega said Black people, and Black women especially,are underrepresented in science, and so"when I saw the thread, I was just like, 'that's exciting.'" She said she learned that there were more Black chemists than she thought there was.

Fullilove said social media engagement and activism by Black chemists has been receiving a lot more attention now than in the past. These efforts are not new.She said that over the last 8-10years, there has been a movement for Black scientists to connect with each other on social media or other online mediums.

In 2014, Black scientists across the country used thehashtag #BLACKandSTEM.

This year, Black scientists in various professions have participated in weeks dedicated to their specific fields, such as #BlackInNeuro weekand #BlackInAstro week.

Vega said these weeks are important and necessary.

But also, Im afraid that its just happening now and wont keep going, she said. I feel like its necessary to keep going.

Carolina Vega stands by an untitled sculpture by Cary Chapman, Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. She is a third year analytical chemistry PhD student at IUPUI. (Photo: Kelly Wilkinson/IndyStar)

Some Black chemists have also been sharing the work of their fellow researchers and connecting scientists to one another.In March 2019, Elissia Franklin, a postdoc at Purdue who researches analytical chemistry, founded a podcast called The Research Her, which highlights Black women researchers. Its also a wellness podcast.

Elissia Franklin works with an instrument in a chemistry lab.(Photo: Elissia Franklin)

Black women tend to not be part of some of the clinical studies that are done relative to different medications, she said, and we tend to be left out of a lot of very important research studies.

Franklin also runs a Slack community for Black women in research. The community has channels for different fields, such as chemistry and psychology.

We have different channels so that you can connect with other people in your field who may not necessarily go to your university, she said.

Franklin is also part of the planning council for STEMNoire, a wellness and research conference for Black women in STEM. At this summer's conference, which was virtual, attendees discussed the stressors of being a Black woman in STEM, took part in a meditation session and participated in other activities.

Franklin said that since the death of George Floyd, she hasnt had to tiptoe around conversations about race.

Its easier to talk to people about race now than it was before, she said, because it was like, everyone just tried to act like it wasnt really a thing and that there werent any systematic or systemic issues within academia that were in place, when it comes to Black people in academia.

Contact IndyStar Pulliam Fellow Anne Snabes at asnabes@indystar.com and follow her on Twitter at @a_snabes.

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Black chemists protest systemic racism and connect with each other on social media - IndyStar