Addressing Difficult Questions about Race and Science
By The Editors
March 23, 2021
From The Staff Anthropology Biology Communications
Joseph L. Graves calls the biology of race "one of the most vexing problems in the history of biology and biomedical research." He is a professor of biological sciences at North Carolina A&T State University and a fellow with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which publishes Science magazine. He has published extensively on the biology of race, and his research in the evolutionary genomics of adaptation shapes our understanding of biological aging and bacterial responses to nanomaterials. Graves leads programs addressing underrepresentation of minorities in science.
On February 23, 2021, Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society, hosted a virtual presentation by Graves as part of its Pizza Lunch series (video, follow-up interview, and curated live tweets are below). Graves based his talk on his most recent book Racism, Not Race: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (Joseph L. Graves and Alan Goodman, Columbia University Press, 2021).
Overall, Graves says his goal is to provide concise and accessible answers to the questions about race and racism that come up during conversations with students, educators, policymakers, friends, and family. This talk, Graves says, is for those who want to work toward a more equitable society, and for those who are nervous about saying the wrong thing. In many cases, the two groups overlap.
"Race and Racism: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions" by Joseph L. Graves
A post-talk Q&A with Joseph L. Graves.
American Scientist Comments and Discussion
To discuss our articles or comment on them, please share them and tag American Scientist on social media platforms. Here are links to our profiles on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
If we re-share your post, we will moderate comments/discussion following our comments policy.