Anti-Racist Teaching Practices

Biology: 

• Emphasize that one of the groundbreaking results from the Human Genome Project was that there is no genetic basis for race. Humans populating the earth today are on average 99.9% identical at the DNA level, and there is more genetic variation within a race than between them.
• In a physiology or anatomy class, one might refer to an increase in blood flow to the skin and refer to it as blushing, or “skin turning red” or similar, but those changes really only refer to light-skinned people.
• Similarly, references to tanning, burning (of skin), sunscreen, etc., often center the experience of light-skinned and/or culturally White people.
• When discussing clinical research, we may celebrate those individuals who have been willing to volunteer for studies in which they receive experimental treatments, vaccines, etc. Because of the history of exploitation of Black and other people in such studies, including famous examples such as the Tuskegee syphilis studies, the Henrietta Lacks history, etc., we should acknowledge that it is rational/understandable for some groups of people to be wary of participating in such studies.

We welcome submissions! Please share resources in your discipline