Minnesota is at the epicenter of seismic world events surrounding the killing of George Floyd that have laid bare oppression and systemic racism that can no longer be denied or ignored. Organizations everywhere have a duty to not only examine their role in the perpetuation of institutionalized racism, but to also take action to reverse it. MGWA is no exception. As an organization MGWA is committed to conducting its business in a manner that is anti-racist and non-discriminatory. MGWA acknowledges that racism is manifested in the groundwater community and our organization by the limited representation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
Professional societies such as MGWA have been exhorted to take action (see https://notimeforsilence.org/ and https://www.change.org/p/geoscientists-call-for-a-robust-anti-racism-plan-for-the-geosciences). Silence is not an option, but not being silent entails more than publishing statements; a statement without action is futile.
To this end MGWA leadership is working to develop an initiative that includes two actionable strategies to alleviate the disparities in our groundwater community.
- MGWA leadership will actively work with the Education Committee and members to create more outreach at underserved schools, particularly those with large minority populations.
- MGWA will work with members and partner organizations, such as the Step Up Program at the University of Minnesota, to help create paid internship opportunities and scholarships for underrepresented and minority students who may be interested in the geosciences, particularly groundwater science (https://diversity.umn.edu/resources/step-program-u-m).
Once the details of this initiative are developed we will provide MGWA members with further details, particularly surrounding the opportunity for members and their employers to participate and/or donate funds in support of it. If you have ideas or connections with other groups and organizations that can help us leverage these outreach initiatives, please connect with us at president@mgwa.org.
We also encourage all our members to take some time to educate ourselves about systematic racism and its history. Everything we are doing now for the future that we imagine, including actions, discussions, and the dismantling of systemic racism must continue into the future. We are at in inflection point, and we must start in the process of rebuilding and restructuring our society and culture.
Suggested Resources:
- A Call to Action for an Anti-Racist Science Community from Geoscientists of Color: Listen, Act, Lead https://notimeforsilence.org/ In particular, please read the section “We call on: Scientific professional societies, in particular those in the Geosciences, which have one of the lowest representations of Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern and North African students and faculty in the scientific community to: … ”