To our supporters, staff, the STEM community, and to our students and their families,

We grieve the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless other Black people who have been killed in acts of racism and hatred. We are angry that injustice and violence are continually inflicted on Black communities in this country. We condemn racist policies, systems, and actions.

The work to be done to change the society we live in is immense and necessary, because the change required is deep and systemic. To succeed will take sustained attention, real leadership, and sweeping changes to policies and programs. We must radically rethink the ways we care for one another as a community.

These are huge, entrenched challenges, and we know that the part BEAM can play is small. Nonetheless, we are determined to play that part, because we also know that our students deserve the best we can do.

As an organization that works to create pathways for students from marginalized communities to become scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and programmers, our work is focused on STEM education and opportunities.

To our students we say:

• We are determined to speak out with you about an educational system that remains largely separate and unequal.

• We are determined to help you access the STEM opportunities you have earned, so you can take your rightful place at the table.

• We are determined to help you reshape what we as a society think a mathematician or a scientist looks like, talks like, thinks like.

• We are committed to helping you achieve your dreams in math and science and to celebrating those achievements with you.

• We are committed to making sure that BEAM centers the needs of our community, and to supporting our students, families, staff, and the broader STEM community in work that is explicitly antiracist and always seeking justice.

This is only the beginning of a much larger conversation we will be having at BEAM over the coming weeks and months, a continuing journey to grow and bring about greater change.

We will be sharing specific plans in the weeks ahead, but as part of our own self-reflection, we have already made several commitments:

• To provide additional, thoughtful training and support for both summer and year-round staff around supporting students and fellow staff members who are especially hard hit by these events.

• To develop a statement of organizational values.

• To continue to support the internal work of our diversity, equity, and inclusion committee and others working within BEAM to improve our awareness, attentiveness, and inclusion.

We invite you to join us as we move forward together. We'll be sharing more of our plans soon.

resources

This is a short list of resources if you wish to learn more and take action, with a focus on policing and criminal justice reform; racism and antiracism; and math, race, and equity.

• advocate, reform, vote

  • Campaign Zero offers a list of resources to advocate, educate, donate, and protect, including grassroots groups in Minneapolis and Louisville.

  • Campaign Zero presents a number of policy solutions to reform policing and the research behind those solutions.

  • If you are particularly interested in research-based solutions to stop police violence, check out this Twitter thread from Sam Sinyangwe, Black activist, data scientist, policy analyst, and co-founder of Campaign Zero.

  • The Prosecutor Project, an initiative of The Color of Change and Winning Justice, is a comprehensive directory of local prosecutors and their stances on criminal justice reform.

  • Vote Save America can help you register to vote, make sure you are still registered, request an absentee ballot, and more.

• Learn more about racism and antiracism

  • Interview with civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson, founder of The Equal Justice Initiative, about the long history behind the current protests and calls for justice (from The New Yorker).

  • The American Nightmare by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, director of The Antiracist Research and Policy Center at American University (from The Atlantic). Dr. Kendi is also the author of Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America and How to Be an Antiracist.

  • White Fragility by antiracist educator Dr. Robin DiAngelo. The author explores the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, behaviors that prevent meaningful cross-racial dialogue, and discusses what white people can do to engage more constructively.

  • The Case for Reparations by Ta-Nehisi Coates (from The Atlantic). Coates is also the author of Between the World and Me and other books. You can also listen to his 2019 statement on reparations (5:15) before a House of Representatives committee.

  • Pod Save the People, a podcast hosted by organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson, who explores news, culture, social justice, and politics with fellow activists Brittany Packnett Cunningham and Sam Sinyangwe, and writer Dr. Clint Smith. They offer a unique take on the news, with a special focus on overlooked stories and topics that often impact people of color.

• learn more about math, race, and equity

  • Dr. Rochelle Gutierrez discusses rehumanizing mathematics on the podcast Abolition Science. (The interview begins at 6:43.) Dr. Gutierrez’s scholarship focuses on issues of identity and power in mathematics education, paying particular attention to how race, class, and language affect teaching and learning. A list of related readings and organizations is included.

  • Dr. Francis Su writes about Race, Space, and the Conflict Inside Us in a blog post from November 2016.

  • The American Mathematical Society inclusion/exclusion blog is about underrepresented groups in mathematics.