On April 9, 2021, Shirley Tilghman, OC FRS, of Princeton University, Bruce Alberts, PhD, of the University of California at San Francisco, Daniel Colón-Ramos of Yale University, PhD, Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD, of Duke University, Judith Kimble, PhD, of University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Harold Varmus, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine, published a commentary in Science. In the article, "Concrete Steps to Diversify the Scientific Workforce," they write:
The recent events that precipitated the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement and the disproportionately devastating impact of COVID-19 on many communities of color are stark reminders of the pernicious effects of systemic racism on all aspects of our society, including science, medicine, and public health. The lack of diversity in the scientific and health professions—a longstanding manifestation of racism—can no longer be ignored, excused, or attributed to uncontrollable factors. We write at this moment of reckoning to explain what is lost by a lack of diversity; to describe some promising efforts to achieve it; and to propose urgent, larger-scale actions that political and institutional leaders, educators, and scientists can take to redress the inequities that pervade our professions.
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