On Wednesday, June 10, HST and IMES are participating in the #ShutDownAcademia and #ShutDownSTEM initiative. By interrupting business as usual, we stand in solidarity with a broad coalition of STEM professionals and academics calling for racial justice and committing to education, action, and healing.

Consistent with our stated values, we accept responsibility to reflect on how we all play a role in sustaining systemic racism and recognize the magnitude of the collective effort necessary to enact change.  Therefore, we encourage all members of our community to take the day off from regular activities in order to reflect on injustices and systemic racism, to educate ourselves on racial bias, and to brainstorm concrete ways for our community to meaningfully confront history and enact change. 

Throughout the day, members of the HST and IMES community are welcome to drop in to a quiet virtual space for reading and reflection. 

Closing session, 5pm. Reflections and Recommendations from the Community -  

Open to members of the HST and IMES community. Please join to share what you’ve learned and how it can be translated into concrete actions to eliminate racism in academia. Our goal is to hear many individual voices so that your learning will collectively inform action plans to be developed for HST and IMES.

Suggested readings and other resources available at: