10 Jun 2020 Standing with the Black community
A statement from the KC STEM Alliance:
“There is absolutely no room for racism and intolerance in our community and in our nation. The KC STEM Alliance stands in solidarity with every member of our community in the fight against racism. We seek to listen, to understand and to do better as we remain wholeheartedly committed to our vision for equitable and inclusive STEM education.”
Staying informed, discussing difficult topics and practicing kindness and respect are a few ways to address the current situation, but there’s more to do. We will continue to examine our actions, explore new ideas and lead discussions within our STEM education community to bring about much-needed change.
As our team examines our own roles in moving toward positive change, we share these resources that may be useful to families, program providers and others undertaking a similar journey.
Resources for better understanding racism, locally and nationally
Kansas City Public Library Resource List: Black Lives Matter
National Museum of African American History and Culture’s Talking About Race
PBS Guide to Talking to Kids about Racism
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide
Amplifying and celebrating Black voices in STEM
Follow and share #AmplifyBlackSTEM and #BlackandSTEM on Twitter and Instagram.
Whether you have kids at home or you’re buying books to help a classroom, books that feature children of color having fun with STEM are a must! This guide from Embrace Race offers a guide to finding books with multicultural characters.
Book an exhibit with The Institute of Black Invention & Technology, a traveling museum based right here in Kansas City. Read more about their work here.
