Read on Twitter
In my intro neuroscience class this semester I provided a reading assignment about systemic racism in neuroscience. I’m sharing here a very long thread about this experience, what I learned & some of the responses from students. There were approximately 98 students enrolled. 1/13
The readings I chose included this piece (that all scientists should read) by @EstOdek along with readings focused on Henrietta Lacks, the Tuskegee Syphilis tragedy, & some current COVID-19 data related health disparities. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6505/780.3.full 2/13
The assignment (asking critical thinking questions about the readings) was extra credit, which is the first thing I will change in the future. This reading needs to be required & I deeply regret making this optional. However, 61% enrolled students completed the assignment. 3/13
At the end of the assignment I polled them about it. Prior to this reading only 21% of the participating students had heard of Henrietta Lacks. This shocked me. These are sophomores, juniors & seniors- mostly neuroscience or psychology majors (w/ some other majors mixed in). 4/13
In contrast 76% of students had heard of the men in the Tuskegee syphilis experiment (mostly in experimental / introductory psychology courses). 70% of students were familiar with the fact that there are health disparities in medicine generally, but not the specifics. 5/13
67% of participating students were aware that COVID-19 is disproportionally impacting some communities more than others, but many were surprised at the severity when they were shown data from the @COVID19Tracking racial data tracker. https://covidtracking.com/race/ 6/13
For a little more context: my University is an HSI & our community is predominantly Latinx. The last question I asked was to “share your thoughts or any other comments you have after completing this assignment”. I will share some anonymous student quotes below in the thread. 7/13
I will keep adapting this assignment but here’s my plea to educators: include discussions of systemic racism in your curriculum. Injustice toward the Black community has permeated all fields of study, & not talking about this is no longer an option. 8/13 #BlackLivesMatter 
I am sharing all of this on twitter with the hope that any educators reading this thread will be moved to find ways to discuss systemic racism in your classrooms & as it relates to your field. We must use our educational platforms & voices to call attention to injustice. 9/13
“We should be more open about this topic [starting in] elementary school” •“[BIPOC] communities mistrust researchers because of the poor treatment they received in the past, &... in the present as well” •“as a Black person... my particular struggles are often overlooked” 10/13
“It’s so harsh to read this... & realize this is still going on, even in the profesional setting” • “Black researchers are less likely to receive funding than their white counterparts & that is something that has got to change”11/13
“This... really opened my eyes to not only systemic racism but how prominent it is [in] the medical & scientific community” • “I think the first step is educating everyone in the medical and science communities on systemic racism” 12/13
“I wish that the articles we read could be more widespread so that a diverse workplace would be enforced in all fields” • “I love El Paso & am extremely thankful to have been raised here, but I think that we as a community can do much more to eliminate racism in the US” 13/13
