"We've Been in STEM!" Recentering Black Voices in Important Disciplinary Conversations and Advocating for Decolonial Science Literacy

• In Event: Centering Black Voices Through Pedagogies, Schooling, and Counter-Spaces

Abstract

This paper surveys the systemic and perceptible omission of Black contributions in STEM discourse. In doing so, this research uses a collaborative critical autoethnography of Black women’s educational experiences to identify ways in which STEM education serves as both a divider and equalizer for students. Our collaborative critical autoethnography is a form of resistance to glean into marginalized student experiences. Findings suggest that African Americans have provided imperative contributions in science, both historically and contemporarily. Although science disciplines are typically considered rather sterile and “absolute,” results of this paper posit that science is skewed towards a male normative, Eurocentric lens. Thus, we posit the omission of multicultural perspectives is a matter of equity and justice that must be revisited.

Authors

• Marcia J. Watson-Vandiver, Towson University
  Presenting Author

• Deneen S Dixon-Payne, Towson University
  Presenting Author

• Tamera D. Moore, Towson University
  Presenting Author