Why So Few: The Seen and Unseen Afterlives of Black Women and Girls in STEM

• In Event: Bearing Witness: Toward an Ontology and Epistemology of Experiential Curriculum

Abstract

As a Black girl coming of age in Mississippi, I received my first introduction to science in my granny’s kitchen. In the midst of her turning something into nothing—alchemy (Peñate, 2019)—I was amazed at her mastery of practical science, mathematics, and engineering. She was the first scientist I knew. However, upon enrollment in school (PK-20), I explored and learned other forms of science that did not honor Black women, girls, and their contributions. Instead, Black women and girls were like unicorns and those who achieved excellence e.g. Mae Jemison, were lauded. The narrative regarding the lack of Black women and girls along with their supposed disinterest in science (Ireland et.al., 2018) was pushed along with a need to increase the numbers of diverse people in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). “Why so few”, the question core to many conversations regarding the lack of Black bodies in STEM, is without critical reflection regarding what participation looks like and how it varies across raced and gendered dimensions (Hill et. al, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to advance how counter-narratives and experiences with STEM work to deconstruct science curriculum, while also informing the who, what, why, and how of science. To that end, I take to task the question: Why so Few, as a means of historicizing the inhumane ways Black bodies are exploited in science and what is needed to reconceptualize a science curriculum where Black women and girls do not function as subject, but as creators and innovators of science content.

Author

• ReAnna S. Roby, Vanderbilt University