FieldNotes Stands with Black Lives Matter
Photo by Noah Lubin
Dear reader,
We feel the best use of our platform is to support our Black siblings as allies, especially our student peers, faculty, and staff. To them, we say: we stand with you on the streets, in the field, in the lab, and on campus. We hear you. We are listening. We echo your words: Black Lives Matter. The killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery, among countless others, and the harassment of Christian Cooper, a Black man enjoying nature, are the result of racial prejudice built into and perpetuated by our society. We, the undersigned from FieldNotes, condemn these deaths at the hands of brutal law enforcement and demand reform of the criminal justice system that unfairly discriminates against BIPOC (Black/Indigenous People of Color). In addition, we support the UW College of the Environment’s efforts to enable diversity, equity, and inclusion, and call for increased implementation of BIPOC-centered and anti-racist initiatives at all levels, from individual labs to the entire university.
FieldNotes is committed to communicating the research and stories of our undergraduates, including marginalized BIPOC communities. As a journal, it is our deepest intention to be present as allies to Black and other People of Color, now and forever. In support of this, we are distributing resources on how to be an ally right now and moving forward within our communities.
WHERE TO START?
If you, like us, are looking for places to process and engage with activism, here are some actions you can take to become an ally:
First: Learn what being an ally means. Recognize that it is not a destination, but a process of listening to and acknowledging trauma and responding by taking appropriate action. During this process mistakes will undoubtedly be made - we just encourage you to own them.
Resources:
- https://guidetoallyship.com/
- 10 Steps to Non-Optical Allyship (Instagram)
- How to be anti-racist resources (Instagram)
- 5 Allyship Actions for Asians to Show Up for the Black Community Right Now (Instagram)
- Opportunities for White People in the Fight for Racial Justice (PDF)
There are countless ways to make being an ally an active verb. By no means are all of them required. Much like science, activism can be approached from many different angles. To take action now:
- Here is an mobile-friendly tool that will walk you through actions you can take: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/
- Here is a list of additional resources on Black history and more ways to help https://moreblminfo.carrd.co/
If you are able to financially contribute:
Donate to community bail funds to keep protestors on the streets, provide funds to families of those killed, and contribute to community-driven initiatives for public safety.
- ActBlue will process and split up your donation to 60 different bail and mutual aid funds: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd
Other funds and organizations you might consider include:
- Black Lives Matter - King County Community Bail Fund
- Northwest Community Bail Fund
- https://www.standwithbre.com/
- https://gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-tony-mcdade
- https://gofundme.com/f/GeorgeFloyd
- https://gofundme.com/f/I-run-with-Maud
- Reclaim the Block - Minneapolis-based org that petitions for community-centered solutions to public safety
- A google doc compiled by Reclaim the Block with a list of organizations in Minneapolis supporting BIPOC communities
- Black Visions Collective - Black community and activism development in MN
- American Civil Liberties Union - civil rights advocacy group
- Know Your Rights Camp - empowerment and mobilization of Black and Brown communities by educating them about their rights
Black LGBTQ+ organizations:
- House of GG - creating and supporting spaces for trans POC, primarily in the American South
- TransJustice Funding Project - grant organization to fund trans justice groups formed by trans people
- The Okra Project - food security and sovereignty to trans black people
- SNaPCo - community fund and organizing for Black trans women in Atlanta
- Black AIDS Institute - capacity building and mobilization of HIV services and advocacy for Black people
- Trans Cultural District - a Black trans women-led neighborhood group located in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, “aim[ing] to stabilize and economically empower the transgender community through ownership of homes, businesses, historic and cultural sites, and safe community spaces.”
- LGBTQ+ Freedom Fund - community bail fund specifically for LGBTQ+ people
If you are financially unable to contribute (and if you have donated, here is how you can do more):
Stream this video of black activists and creatives where 100% of the ad revenue goes towards community bail, support for affected families, and other advocacy groups. Turn off ad-blocker software and do not skip ads.
Consider signing online petitions in your community calling for police reform and divestment.
- Learn what divesting from the police looks like (Twitter thread)
- A UW faculty-led petition that calls for the decriminalization of the University
- Support the Call to Defund the Seattle Police Department
Use your social network to engage and initiate conversations.
- Here are some responses to common counterpoints (Instagram)
- Talking About Race: online resources by the National Museum of African-American History and Culture
- Tips on engaging in conversation with family members (Twitter)
Support protests, either by showing up as an ally, providing supplies such as food, water bottles, googles, masks, medical supplies, or safe refuge, or simply in your conversations with friends, families and others. Find groups on social media spaces to get involved. Come prepared:
- Protesting Safely graphic (Instagram)
- How to Stay Safe During a Tear Gas Attack video (Instagram)
- Google doc compiled by Chris Mantegna with further resources
Contact your representatives at the local, state, and federal level and push for police reform.
- How To Call My Senator, How To Call My Representative by Andrea González-Ramírez
Follow, listen, and amplify the voices of Black scientists and nature enthusiasts on the Twitter event #BlackBirderWeek and #BlackinNature, run by @BlackAFinSTEM
- Watch the series Birds of North America by Jason Ward on Youtube
If you are part of the College of the Environment, review the College’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements, and look up your department’s. In addition, contact Isabel Carrera Zamanillo, the College’s DEI Specialist, for resources and ways to become involved in anti-racist and DEI efforts within the College (micz@uw.edu).
VOTE at all levels of government: local, county, state, and federal. Every vote matters for every single elected position. Many of the administrators that oversee all levels of government are either elected or appointed by elected officials.
- Check your voting status at Vote.org.
- Find out who serves you at CommonCause.org, and who and what is passing through your state legislature at OpenStates.org.
Educate yourself on the history of BIPOC oppression and how it is being perpetuated today. Here are some recommendations:
Podcasts
- Code Switch (NPR)
- Pod Save the People (Crooked Media)
- About Race with Reni Eddo-Lodge
- 1619 (New York Times)
- Pod for the Cause (The Leadership Council for Civil & Human Rights)
- Scene-On Radio’s episode Seeing White
Selected Books, Essays and Articles
- The American Nightmare by Ibram X. Kendi
- Birding While Black by Dr. J. Drew Lanham plus a recent interview
- Reclaiming STEM Statement on Black Lives Matter + additional resources
- “I’m a Black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet” by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
- Statement by the Black Ecologists section of the Ecological Society of America
- How to be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Race by Robin DiAngelo
- Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Poetry, edited by Camille T. Dungy
- Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, by Reni Eddo-Lodge
- A Google drive folder with Black literature and revolutionary texts
- Black History Month reading list
- 24 Books for White People to Read Beyond Black History Month
- Twitter thread of books (fiction and non-fiction) highlighting life as a Black person, police brutality, and Black history
- Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Y. Davis
A comprehensive, open source document of further reading resources is here.
We suggest that you purchase from your local bookseller or check out from your local library via the free Libby app, available on iOS and Google Play stores.
MOVING FORWARD
Being an ally doesn’t stop when the marches are over. We have a responsibility to not only condemn racism and inequity in our police, but in all our institutions. We must recognize that as part of academia and the natural sciences, we have been complicit in supporting racism and injustice. The University of Washington was founded on the unceded land of the Duwamish, who are not currently a federally recognized tribe. The effects of poor and narrow-sighted environmental policy at federal and local levels are disproportionately borne by low-income communities and people of color, especially in Seattle. In addition, Black and Brown POC are underrepresented in the natural sciences due to systematic racism, bias, barriers to opportunity, and a lack of representation. As students and researchers studying the environment, we bear a responsibility to acknowledge and improve the welfare of all living beings, especially those who have faced and continue to face systematic oppression and distress. Environmental impacts and social justice are inextricable from one other. We cannot opt out of caring.
Therefore, we encourage white and non-BIPOC to take steps and be an ally always:
- Being an ally means truly listening to and amplifying BIPOC voices, whether in the environment, on campus, or elsewhere.
- Being an ally we should not burden BIPOC with the emotional labor of constantly sharing their own trauma and experiences - instead, we are good researchers and should practice our own research.
- Being an ally means we prepare for and do not shy away from difficult conversations about race with our peers, collaborators, PIs, mentors, stakeholders, and loved ones.
- Being an ally means recognizing that allyship is not about yourself, and that when you make mistakes, you accept criticism from BIPOC and others with grace, understanding, and a motivation to do better.
- Being an ally means researching and questioning how your unit or collaborators are encouraging anti-racism, diversity, and/or environmental justice in their practices, and whether those efforts are enough. A twitter thread of concrete measures by Alexis Wilson, PhD student at Stanford EARTH
- Being an ally means actively taking a political stand. Educate yourself on candidates running for local, state, and national office, and do your part by voting and attending city councils open to the public to voice your opinion.
- Being an ally means we question and modify how we teach and mentor the next generation of scientists, policy makers, educators, and citizens of the world to be more inclusive.
- Being an ally means all scientists critically examine how our research interacts with the public and support a research model that builds community with the groups that have a stake in our findings, especially marginalized communities. Search for resources and guidance at the College’s Science Communication and Outreach page, especially the Amplify events
- Being an ally means creating community for BIPOC and allies to rally around and support each other.
- Being an ally means we show up for our mental health. This includes disengaging from the media at times and working when necessary to recenter ourselves. Mental Health Services at Hall Health
- Being an ally means showing up for BIPOC without reservation.
- Being an ally means we lead with love in our hearts.
This list is by no means exhaustive. Activism and allyship can entail any, all, and even more than the actions listed.
The path to justice is a marathon, not a sprint. This letter is a call to action, now, and into the future. We hope you will join us in solidarity.
Signed,
ANDREW CHIN
KATHLEEN GONZALEZ
ALANNA GREENE
ASHIKA CAPIRALA
ALLISON PHILLIPS
MADELINE BROOKS
ELLEN NG
CHRIS MANTEGNA
JULIAN OLDEN