If you can SEE it, you can BE it. Representation is KEY in FIRST.
I have written multiple times about how amazing of an organization FIRST is, and how I have seen first hand how it can impact the entire trajectory of a child's life. Last year, I was invited to become a member of of a FIRST Robotics Competition Black Mentor Advisory Group. It is one of the only, if not the only organization of its kind in the United States. It is no secret that there is a distinct lack of Black representation in STEM and other professional areas. There are a couple of hundred FRC Mentors in North Carolina alone, and I would say about 10% of them are Black.
We had a virtual meeting recently and the council head, who is White, and one of the staunchest allies I have ever met in my life, told us a story about a colleague who ran a robotics event at a school in North Carolina. There was a young Black girl in the group and when asked if she wanted to participate, she said "she couldn't." And when the program lead, who is White said that she could do anything she wanted to, she pointed to her very brown arm and said "Do you see people like THIS doing that?". It shattered me.
I grew up as one of the only Black kids in my class. I had ONE Black teacher in my entire elementary and secondary education. I'll never forget him. His name was Mr. Ledbetter and he was my PE Teacher in Junior High. I didn't get another Black teacher until college, and then, I think I MIGHT have had 2.
We have been asked, why is this so? And it is a very multifaceted answer. Part of it is because black families were told for so very long that in order to compete in a white world, you needed a college education. Because for so long, blacks weren't allowed to go to a lot of schools, and they were excluded from jobs where you held certain degrees. Black families were also exposed to the rhetoric that working with your hands is less. It's a throwback to being forced into menial jobs that were only given to people with black and brown skin. Echoes of slavery and hard labor have been so pervasive and passed down, that occupations like being a plumber or a machinist are often looked down upon.
My team did a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion video last year and one of the talking points we use is surprising to many people. The wealth gap between Blacks and Whites actually increased by 70% over the last 30 years, when you add in a college degree. When we set up a table at the school during open house to recruit students upcoming season? By and large, Black students pass us completely by in favor of athletics. Even though 1% of 1% of them will ever make it pro. But 100% of them can find jobs paying close to six figures if they are steered toward the right career path.
FIRST is in desperate need of Black mentors and Black students. And I know this may come as a little controversial, but here it is. Anybody that is not White is considered underrepresented for the basis of statistics. And there is a huge disparity in how people with brown skin are perceived. No matter what their background, educational level, and employment. However, people of Asian and Asian Indian descent are overrepresented in the STEM workforce, relative to their overall share of the workforce, especially among college-educated workers. Blacks and Hispanics continue to be woefully underrepresented in STEM. We NEED more Black boys and girls in manufacturing and STEM careers.
My team recently had the immense pleasure of being visited by a local TV station that wanted to do a piece on Diversity and Robotics and STEM. I just hope this piece airs and a little girl or a little boy looks at the television and thinks, you know what? I can do that too. And I hope that their parents look at my students and think, you know what? I can help my child do that.
Please please think about becoming a mentor or even volunteering at an event. Visit https://www.firstnorthcarolina.org/volunteers1 to register!
Comments
Post a Comment