‘Where Are The Black Scientists?’ My Son Asked

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‘Where are the Black scientists?’ my son asked

During a recent car ride, my youngest son, who is African American, casually said, “Mommy, white people are better than Black people.” My wife’s heart dropped as she mustered a response. “Why would you say that, honey?” she asked him. Without missing a beat, our son said, “Because there are more of them than Black people.” His two biracial older brothers, who are intensely protective of him, chimed in immediately. “But think about all of the amazing Black people in our lives, like our friends, and all of the people we have learned about from history!” Again, without missing a beat, our youngest said, “But who are the Black scientists? I want to be a scientist. Are there Black scientists? Where are they?” The car

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References

Adukia, A., Eble, A., Harrison, E., Runesha, H.B., & Szasz, T. (2021, April 12). What we teach about race and gender: Representation in images and text of children’s books. Becker Friedman Institute. bfi.uchicago.edu/insight/research-summary/what-we-teach-about-race-and-gender-representation-in-images-and-text-of-childrens-books/