Initiated by Black astronomers and physicists, this Wednesday, June 10, has been called as a national day to commit to (or continue to) “taking actions that will change the material circumstances of how Black lives are lived — to work toward ending the white supremacy that not only snuffs out Black physicist [and, by extension, all STEM professionals’] dreams but destroys whole Black lives.”

In solidarity with the #ShutDownSTEM community, on Wednesday I will be refraining from my “normal” day-to-day activities that keep the wheels of the STEM enterprise going (e.g., designing experiments, analyzing data, writing and reviewing papers or proposals, editing a journal, sending and responding to emails, and engaging in standard committee work), and instead focusing my attention on taking action to agitate for change in our community(ies).

As the facilitator for Harvard Forest’s strategic planning activities, I have asked all working groups scheduled to meet this week (and not just Wednesday!) to use our regularly-scheduled meetings to identify specific actions (not objectives, not goals)—at local, regional, national, or international levels—that we can take right now to eliminate racism—and specifically, anti-Blackness—at Harvard Forest, across Harvard University, in our own work and in work with our collaborators, and in our home communities.