Pitt’s Sandra Murray joined dozens of scientists in a call for racial equity

With Juneteenth as a catalyst, a group of Black scientists, including Sandra Murray, professor of cell biology in Pitt’s School of Medicine, is calling for racial equity in science.  

Murray was a corresponding author of a paper published June 8 in the journal Cell. “Juneteenth in STEMM and the Barriers to Equitable Science,” written by 52 Black scientists, reviews racial disparities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) fields and calls on institutions to address them.

Juneteenth, recognized as a federal holiday in 2021, commemorates the freedom of the last large group of enslaved Black Americans on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. The holiday acknowledges the long struggle Black Americans have faced in U.S. history and serves as a day to reflect and to remember that the work toward equity for all is not complete.

Murray noted that some solutions called for in the paper are already happening at Pitt, such as the Senior Vice Chancellor for the Health Sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine Anantha Shekhar starting a dialogue by asking faculty, “What have you done for DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)?”

“Just that question is enough to make people think and do differently,” said Murray.

[From the archives: Murray’s long fight to diversify science]

Among the authors’ suggestions are calls to create and foster a culture of inclusivity and support through tailored mentorship and networking opportunities and acknowledge holistic struggles to develop supportive policies and program structures. Additionally, they highlight a need for policies that safeguard the well-being of Black scientists in their training pipeline, support retention in postdoctoral and faculty positions and develop a stronger exposure in grade school to foster lifelong relationships with science and support networks.

“All students should feel that they belong in the career they're going into and that they'll do well in it,” said Murray. She emphasized the value of existing programs, like the U.S. Department of Education’s Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, in showing and connecting students with role models.

“Those role models, many times, will not only share the things that have gone well, but they will share some of the things that haven't gone well,” said Murray. “It says to the student, I can walk in that path as well.”

The authors wrote, “Juneteenth can remind us of what we still need to change, but doing so requires action from funding bodies, institutions and the wider community.”

Murray said action should include increasing dialogue through institutional support and training mentors to build support at all career levels.

“I think we have to grow mentors,” said Murray. “We have to increase the number of mentors who have intellectual humility, are capable of listening and understanding, and can positively motivate someone else’s climb.”
 

— Phoebe Ingraham Renda and Roberta Zeff, photography by Tom Altany