Disentangling anti-blackness from Physics: perspectives from an AMO researcher

Swift action is necessary to address the dearth of Black students, postdocs and faculty in the academic physics enterprise. Our discipline will be enriched and progress more quickly toward a richer understanding of the universe for having done so. Over the previous two decades in the U.S., the proportion of Black students receiving bachelor' degrees in physics has decreased from approximately 5% to approximately 3%. In the same period, the rate at which Black students were awarded PhDs remained constant at roughly 10 per year, a small fraction of the total number of awarded PhDs. After extensive research, the American Institute of Physics' TEAM-UP Taskforce has identified, in a comprehensive report, several factors which have led to the persistent underrepresentation of African American undergraduate students in physics. These factors remain relevant to Black students' trajectories beyond their undergraduate years. In this talk, I will describe (briefly) the severity of Black underrepresentation in physics, common hurdles faced by Black physicists, and actionable steps that physics departments should take to address this underrepresentation.