If you are Black (or URM more generally), you WILL NOT get through the academic space, especially in STEM, without MENTORS or folx who go out of their way to ensure that you become the best version of yourself.

Every BLACK person [in STEM] NEEDS a mentor.

A thead/ https://twitter.com/EstOdek/status/1277942089049833473

Let's talk about what mentorship IS NOT. Mentorship is not:

- Tokenizing
- Poor communication
- Lack of regard about your well being and journey
- Fixating on your mistakes
- General douchebaggery

If this is your experience, GET OUT TODAY.

They are NOT for you.

2/7

Mentorship IS, however, the following:

- Patience and understanding with your growth
- Regard for well being
- Supporting your endeavors WHATEVER they may be
- Willingness to learn (esp for non-Black folx)
- Clear and helpful communication

ICONIC behavior, basically.

3/7

As a Black person in STEM, depending on your field, you might be a unicorn, so a GREAT mentor MUST (be willing to) understand how your identity as a Black person intersects with the reality of you being #BlackinTheIvory.

This applies to both non-Black and Black mentors.

4/7

take: We don't talk about this enough, but not all skin folk is kinfolk. I've heard many stories of older Black folx not looking out for young folx, especially in STEM.

It's better to have a GREAT non-Black mentor than a sub-par Black one. This is true for any race btw.

5/7

If you are Black (in STEM) and you need to find a mentor, start with people who resonate you beyond the work they produce and have a history of 1) teaching, 2) mentorship, and 3) being committed to diversity... like forreal.

Know that your best mentors might not be Black.

6/7

At the end of day, if your mentor is not helping you succeed, they are not helping you. If you are in a "mentor-mentee" relationship is not bearing fruit, LEAVE.

Mentors are supposed to cultivate your potential, not kill it. Know the difference and act accordingly.

7/7

There is also this false idea that "because I struggled, you must struggle".

Senior folx in academia/ professional spaces who fail to eliminate/address hurdles are apart of the problem.

Making it to "top" with no path left behind is actually really selfish imo.

8/7

Some folx really believe that making it to top is sufficient for making a space more inclusive.

If *you* make it, but don't make a point to lift as you climb, what ACTUALLY was the point of climbing in the first place?

Lift as you climb, y'all. LIFT AS YOU CLIMB.

9/7

Let me say ONE more thing (for now):

The aim of a mentor should be to help you become the best version of yourself, NOT to mold you into a exact replica of them.

If your mentor feels uncomfortable pushing you past where they ended up? They insecure. ABORT MISSION.

10/7