Take Action Tuesday

We continue to support actions in response to the recent tragedy in Charlottesville. Please take a minute to utilize these amazing resources that Rukmani Vijayaraghavan put together for us last week.

  • The first step in action is to educate ourselves and the people closest to us about what happened leading up to the incidents over the weekend:

  1. This statue is the symbol of hatred at the center of the controversy.

  2. The petition to remove the statue was started by a high school student, Zyahna Bryant; let her be our inspiration.

  3. Charlottesville is a city where a veneer of gentility and progressivism often covers over decades of slavery and segregation. The University of Virginia where the marches began on Friday, was founded by Thomas Jefferson, and is also in the process of confronting its own history of slavery and segregation. More background reading here: Why this happened in Charlottesville

  4. Some more reading: What to do about Charlottesville, White Feelings: 0-60 for Charlottesville

  • There are no easy solutions or actions, but there are many in Charlottesville doing the work of confronting and dealing with the legacy of racism and segregation and would greatly benefit from your support,

  1. Like the Jefferson School African American Heritage Center. You can support them here.

  2. Here are local groups and chapters you can support: Black Lives Matter Charlottesville, Charlottesville NOW, Charlottesville Pride, the Charlottesville-Albemarle NAACP, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville,  Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, and more here.

  3. Support the Black Student Alliance at U.Va. They are on the frontlines.

  4. Source unknown, but an excellent list of things you can do. And this one’s from Mashable.

  • Still feel like this is not enough? We are scientists, and we are far from perfect. So be creative and push yourself and your community to find more ways to stand up against hatred and bigotry in your community

  1. Listen to Charlottesville’s protest songs

  2. Find out what your members of Congress are doing to respond to the Charlotteville terror attacks.

 

500 Women Scientists is on its way to becoming a powerful organization representing the voices of tens of thousands of women scientists all over the globe. With your gift we can pay for the vital infrastructure we need. Plus, your donations help keep 500WS resources free and open, one less barrier to women in science.