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An observation about the nuclear field. I have been studying nuclear issues for so many years, but only last year did I start learning about the role of Afro-Americans in the anti-nuclear movement thanks to being on the same panel as @VincentIntondi. 1/9
This year I added a class on "Issues of race, justice, and diversity in the nuclear field" to my course on nuclear security policy. For class readings, I asked my students to read a chapter from @VincentIntondi's book - African Americans Against the Bomb from @stanfordpress 2/9
I am so glad I did. It was a revelation to pretty much everyone in the class (including myself!). It made me think - why those of us working in the nuclear field know so little about it? How can we make sure contributions such as of civil rights movements are not forgotten? 3/9
As an aside, I recommend this recent powerful piece from Vincent for @ArmsControlNow: https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-07/features/reflections-injustice-racism-bomb 4/9
Another class reading was a fantastic article from @bojacobs "Nuclear Conquistadors: Military Colonialism in Nuclear Test Site Selection during the Cold War." Again, an important topic that is not part of general discourse: https://bit.ly/3oE5W13 5/9
I rounded up the list of readings with a piece we co-authored with @mbudjeryn for @inkstickmedia - https://inkstickmedia.com/nuclear-shades-of-red-racism/ 6/9
We also had a fantastic guest speaker @lauryndsw to talk about the importance of diversity in the nuclear field (thanks so much, Lauryn!). 7/9
Incredibly thoughtful reflections & questions on race, justice, and diversity heard in the class as a response to readings made me realize: I am so grateful to those in the field who have been working and writing on these crucial issues well before 2020. 8/9
We need to get those stories out, so that we, as the nuclear policy community, can fully reflect on some uncomfortable truths in the nuclear field. 9/9
