Physics Department Martin Luther King Colloquium | Justice in Science: Where We Stand at Times of Challenge and Controversy

The title of Shirley Malcom’s, Senior Advisor to the CEO and Director of the SEA Change initiative at American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS), talk was inspired by Dr. King’s quote regarding “The ultimate measure of a man” [person]. It is not where one stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where one stands at times of challenge and controversy.

She began college during the Civil Rights era, at the height of Dr. King’s work to promote social justice. After a K-12 education in the segregated schools of Birmingham, Alabama, she chose to pursue a career in science. This choice was not only a personal decision or a patriotic act but, in many ways, an act of resistance. By following her interests, she resisted the label that, as a young Black woman, she might be intellectually unfit to study science.

Echoes of the past continue to swirl in today’s conversations about who can and cannot do science. This presentation will explore the meaning of “justice in science” and discuss positive changes that might open science to diversity and lived experiences that promote excellence.