# Black Lives Matter ## expand\_more ![blm_protest](/sites/g/files/omnuum9516/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/hos/files/blm_protest.png?itok=kBP1JtYW) ## A Letter to the Harvard History of Science Community June 4, 2020 Dear Colleagues and Students, After much reflection on the events of the last few days, weeks, and months I decided to send this personal note to all of you – faculty, students, and staff of the Department of the History of Science. I begin by sharing with you the words of a song that brings me comfort and reminds me of my commitments in times like these. “We who believe in freedom cannot rest We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes Until the killing of black men, black mothers’ sons Is as important as the killing of white men, white mothers’ sons ... We who believe in freedom cannot rest We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes” *From Ella’s Song by Bernice Johnson Reagon and Sweet Honey in the Rock* In the late 1980s and 1990s in the U.S., Ella’s Song was a rallying cry for me and many of my friends during the many marches held to bring attention to the epidemic of HIV/AIDs. The lyrics were familiar to those who marched in the 1960s Civil Rights movement as well. When singing this song as we marched, the refrain always reminded me that the struggle against racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of injustice in this country would not be easy or short. If you believed in freedom you had to be in the fight until the moral arc of the universe met justice. I have been in this fight for my entire life. These are dark times in our country as we struggle through a pandemic of a novel virus that has pushed all of us into new and uncertain territory that is re-shaping how we live, learn, and work on a daily basis. And just as we have been coming to grips with the pandemic and the inequalities it has revealed, we watched the horrific murder of a black man, George Floyd, at the hands of white policemen in Minneapolis. This horrendous death ripped the scab off the long festering wounds of America’s ongoing struggle with racism, police violence, poverty, and crippling health and economic inequalities. As an African American woman I am sickened by this recent incident – no, not incident - this was a lynching. A lynching that was one more in a long bloody history of lynchings in this country. I like many black mothers live in fear daily that my son could be the next target of the white racists that continue to feel they can take the lives of black people with impunity. It is now time for white Americans to join with black Americans to take up the fight to end the murder of black Americans. It is more than time for white Americans to work to end the systemic deeply embedded attitudes and practices that provide the unspoken and invisible rationales for those who actively devalue black lives. That work has to start now on the third floor of the Science Center in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University. This commitment to end white supremacy has to be made visible in everything we do – our work, our teaching, and our daily interactions. The time for polite silence is over. From my perspective, for too long medicine, science, and technology have been complicit in sustaining white supremacy in complex ways that have largely been underexamined. Now we need to be leaders in exposing and dismantling the structures which uphold the assumptions that sustain it. We cannot and must not succumb to despair or hide behind comfortable platitudes. In the coming days and weeks I will be reaching out to you to work with me to develop concrete ways to respond to the challenges we face within the department, the university and the nation. In the end, we must be better colleagues to each other, better teachers of our students, more courageous in speaking out when racism raises its ugly head - because we who believe in freedom cannot rest. Evelynn Hammonds *Department Chair, 2017-2022* **\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_** **We faculty members of the Department of History of Science** wish to condemn the brutal death of George Floyd and express support for colleagues and students in the collective struggle for equality and respect. We are proud to support the letter written by our colleague Evelynn Hammonds, our department chair. We also commit ourselves to doing all we can to advance equal rights in the university and wider community. SortEram Alam Allan Brandt Janet Browne Alex Csiszar Peter Galison Anne Harrington Matthew Hersch David Jones Shigehisa Kuriyama Rebecca Lemov Elizabeth Lunbeck Hannah Marcus Naomi Oreskes Gabriela Soto Laveaga Victor Seow Sarah Richardson Benjamin Wilson **\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_** **We, the History of Science Administrative Staff**, support the powerful commitment of our Department Chair, Evelynn Hammonds. We believe that diverse voices are fundamental to the life and success of our community. Suppression and negation of these voices causes great harm. We commit to creating an environment where diverse voices and perspectives belong. Through cooperation, reflection, and active listening, we are eager to cultivate equality and inclusion for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BlPOC) within our department. SortAlice Belser Brigid O'Connor Ellen Guarente Michael Kelley Sylvie Papazian Linda Schneider Nicole Terrien David Unger Deborah Valdovinos Karen Woodward Massey Robin Yun ## Black Lives Matter Resources ### How can I help? expand\_more [BlackLivesMatter: Ways you can help](https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/) [Black Lives Matter: Healing in Action](https://blacklivesmatter.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/BLM_HealingAction_r1.pdf) [A Letter to My White Friends & Colleagues](https://www.amazon.com/Letter-White-Friends-Colleagues-Community/dp/1119794773) [Decolonising Science Reading List](https://medium.com/@chanda/decolonising-science-reading-list-339fb773d51f) [Race After Technology](https://www.ruhabenjamin.com/race-after-technology) by Ruha Benjamin [Data for Black Lives](https://d4bl.org/) [Lynching in America](https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/) [Inequality in America](https://inequality.org/) ### Harvard-based Resources expand\_more [Confronting Anti-Black Racism](https://library.harvard.edu/confronting-anti-black-racism) [Courses on Race & Ethnicity in the Social Sciences Division](https://socialscience.fas.harvard.edu/courses-race-and-ethnicity) [What should I do if experience racial discrimination or observe a racist incident in the Harvard community?](https://dib.harvard.edu/news/what-can-i-do-if-i-experience-racial-discrimination-or-observe-racist-incident-harvard) [Association of Black Faculty, Administrators, and Fellows](https://employeeresourcegroups.harvard.edu/abfaf) Women of Color Coffee break, every other Wednesday, Hosted by Alexis Stokes, [alexis\_stokes@harvard.edu](mailto:alexis_stokes@harvard.edu) [Counseling and Mental Health Services](https://camhs.huhs.harvard.edu/) [HKS: Racial Justice, Racial Equity, and Anti-Racism Reading List](http://www.hks.harvard.edu/faculty-research/library-knowledge-services/collections/diversity-inclusion-belonging/anti-racist/) [HMS: Resources | Anti-Racism](https://dicp.hms.harvard.edu/resources-anti-racism) ### Resources on Systemic Racism expand\_more [Race Forward: Video on "What is Systemic Racism?"](https://www.raceforward.org/videos/systemic-racism) [Black and Asian-American Feminist Solidarities: A Reading List](https://www.blackwomenradicals.com/blog-feed/black-and-asian-feminist-solidarities-a-reading-list) [Letters for Black Lives](https://lettersforblacklives.com/) [Remember, No One Is Coming to Save Us by Roxane Gay](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/30/opinion/sunday/trump-george-floyd-coronavirus.html) [10 Books About Race To Read Instead Of Asking A Person Of Color To Explain Things To You](https://www.bustle.com/p/10-books-about-race-to-read-instead-of-asking-a-person-of-color-to-explain-things-to-you-8548796) [Understanding and Dismantling Racism: A Booklist for White Readers](https://www.charisbooksandmore.com/understanding-and-dismantling-racism-booklist-white-readers) [Acknowledging Your Privilege and Becoming an Ally](https://goodblacknews.org/2020/06/04/acknowledging-your-privilege-and-becoming-an-ally-a-guide-to-resources-for-white-folks/): A Guide to Resources for White Folks [Talking About Racism with Kids](http://libraryaware.com/3025/NewsletterIssues/ViewIssue/35243477-cc56-42f2-b474-8de4e3ce7f89?postId=45d974fd-1f31-494d-8ab6-e5dde0bb49e0), Cambridge Public Library ### Podcasts expand\_more [1619](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/podcasts/1619-podcast.html) (New York Times) [Our National Conversation About Race](https://www.showaboutrace.com/)[(SoundCloud)](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/&sa=D&ust=1591634082891000&sa=D&ust=1591634082936000&usg=AFQjCNHhXe8p-3ak4GfKRSsZsV2-eOLy6w) [Code Switch](https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/) (NPR) [Intersectionality Matters](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/intersectionality-matters/id1441348908)! Hosted by Kimberlé Crenshaw [Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast](https://www.raceforward.org/media/podcast/momentum-race-forward-podcast) [Pod For The Cause](https://civilrights.org/podforthecause/), from The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights [Pod Save the People](https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-the-people/) (Crooked Media) [Seeing White](https://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/) (Scene on Radio) [Raising White Kids](https://integratedschools.org/podcast/harvey/)​​​​​​​ with Jennifer Harvey ### Organizations on Social Media expand\_more Antiracism Center: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AntiracismCtr) Audre Lorde Project: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/audrelorde) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/audrelordeproject/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/AudreLordeProject) Black Women’s Blueprint: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/blackwomensbp) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/blackwomensblueprint/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/blackwomens.BWBNY) Color Of Change: [Twitter](http://twitter.com/colorofchange) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/colorofchange) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/colorofchange) Colorlines: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/Colorlines) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/colorlinesnews/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/colorlines) The Conscious Kid: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/consciouskidlib) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/theconsciouskid) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/theconsciouskid) Equal Justice Initiative (EJI): [Twitter](https://twitter.com/eji_org) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/eji_org/)| [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/equaljusticeinitiative) Families Belong Together: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/fams2gether) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/fams2gether/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/fams2gether) Justice League NYC: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/NYjusticeleague) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/NYjusticeleague/) Gathering For Justice: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/gather4justice) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/gather4justice/) The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights: [Twitter](http://twitter.com/civilrightsorg) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/civilrightsorg/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/civilandhumanrights) MPowerChange: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/mpower_change) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/mpowerchange/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/MPowerChange/) Muslim Girl: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/muslimgirl) | [Instagram](http://instagram.com/muslimgirl) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/muslimgirlarmy/) NAACP: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/NAACP) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/naacp/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/naacp) National Domestic Workers Alliance: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/domesticworkers) | [Instagram](https://instagram.com/domesticworkers) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/nationaldomesticworkersalliance) Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ): [Twitter](https://twitter.com/ShowUp4RJ) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/showingupforracialjustice/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/ShowingUpForRacialJustice) SisterSong: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/SisterSong_WOC) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/SisterSong_WOC/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/SisterSongWOC) United We Dream: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/unitedwedream) | [Instagram](http://instagram.com/unitedwedream) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/UnitedWeDream/) The We Got Us Empowerment Project: [Twitter](https://twitter.com/wegotusproject) | [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/wegotusproject/) | [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/wegotusproject)