As the 1st BW to graduate from Yale astro w a PhD in astrophysics, I was asked to comment on the racist dept emails sent by senior faculty in this @buzzfeednews story. TBH, I wasn't planning to. Not surprising and not worth my time. #BlackintheIvory https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/yale-astronomy-systemic-racism-emails

Then I remembered being a student there and watching blatantly racist things happen that I didn't feel like I could or even knew how to speak to. I remember wishing someone would stand up for my right to be there. Very often no one did; certainly not publicly. #BlackintheIvory

I remember vowing that if I ever got power in my field that I wouldn't squander it by only celebrating my scientific expertise, but that I would use it to encourage and create space for folx like me, who cared both abt people and the Universe. Oh hai power... #BlackintheIvory

So I had to comment. To bear witness to the brazenness w which white supremacy wafts through the halls of virtually every predominantly white institution in the country. I had to address the utter predictability and unoriginality, yet violent things they said. #BlackintheIvory

I needed to say something, at that moment, bc so many students I personally know were on the receiving end of similarly racist emails that weren't (yet) leaked in response to #strike4blacklives #ShutDownSTEM #ShutDownAcademia. This is core to the #BlackintheIvory experience.

So I commented: "Their arguments were neither good, accurate or even creative; they reflect the banality of white supremacy embedded in the blatant lie of meritocracy. " #BlackintheIvory
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemlee/yale-astronomy-systemic-racism-emails

ADDITIONALLY, the fact that the critique of the comments came from those w the least power in the dept: undergrads and postdocs, is equally problematic. It is not now, nor has it ever been, the most vulnerable folks’ job to fix structural oppression. #BlackintheIvory

Tenured faculty should have *publicly* pushed back against those blatantly racist comments. Their refusal to do so is a textbook demonstration of how power tends to reify the status quo. I'm looking at ya'll "wait til you get tenure to do something" folk. #BlackintheIvory

I'm thankful for the students and postdocs who said something, both at Yale and at other institutions across the country, but all ya'll making these public claims abt the #strike4blacklives #ShutDownSTEM #ShutDownAcademia but not actively addressing oppression in your depts can

Lastly, to #BlackintheIvory who have been subjected to similar (or worse) things than these emails: They are lies. They are unjust. They are designed to distract and disillusion you. It will not always be like this and this is not normal. In moments of hardship, remember

Thanks to @stephaniemlee for writing the story, to @IBJIYONGI for contributing and listening, to the students and postdocs who spoke up and to whoever leaked the emails. Well done, ya'll.