This year, a group of EPL employees participated in Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE), an NSF-funded nationwide journal-reading and policy-design curriculum to help geoscientists unlearn racism and improve accessibility, justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (AJEDI) in our discipline. Over 3000 individuals from universities, research institutions, policy centers, and government laboratories participated in this 16-week program. Though the emphasis was on the geosciences, the EPL URGE group spanned from seismologists to electron microscopists to astronomers to development officers.
URGE’s primary objectives were to (1) deepen the community’s knowledge of the effects of racism on the participation and retention of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people in geoscience, (2) draw on existing literature, expert opinions, and personal experiences to develop anti-racist policies and strategies, and (3) share, discuss, and modify anti-racist policies and strategies within a dynamic community network and on a national stage. By meeting these objectives, the goal was that geoscience departments and societies will be able to implement a well-researched crowdsourced group of anti-racist policies and programs that will lead to lasting change.
In this seminar, the EPL URGE group will present what they learned through the URGE program and share actionable ideas that could be incorporated into the EPL community. We enthusiastically encourage questions, discussion, and suggestions!