A group of women scientists in medical research and academics aptly named Academic Research Moms, or “ARM”, decided to act in support of Black science and medical students by creating an ongoing fund jointly-managed by The HBCU Foundation and Meharry Medical College, that has already raised over $30,000 – earmarked to support graduate and postgraduate level HBCU (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) women in STEM (Science, Technology Engineering & Mathematics) studies.
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What started out as a small group of friends and colleagues has grown into an international network of over 2,600 women from around the world who provide professional & emotional support to one another, present work, share information, and provide each other with advice and consolation.
With the renewed focus on the Black Lives Matter movement and increasing visibility of systemic racism, conversations within the group turned to current issues, and the additional burdens faced by black women and mothers in STEM fields: a minority within a minority.
“We are grateful to The HBCU Foundation for offering us a place to establish these funds and for generously agreeing to expand the scope of their critical work supporting Black scholars to include post-undergraduate STEM trainees who are also mothers. Representation matters in the type of health-based research questions we choose, in the type of medical care that patients receive and in building mentorship for future generations,” said a group spokesperson. “HBCUs have the most successful metric for producing Black doctors and scientists thus, by supporting medical and research trainee women through The HBCU Foundation we believe that more Black women will become leaders of research and medicine in our academic research institutions.”
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