Fifty three years ago, on this day, May 1st, 1972, the National Center for Atmospheric Research director Walter Orr Roberts writes a letter about the importance of training black climate scientists https://opensky.ucar.edu/islandora/object/archives:7508
The context was the ferment of the 1960s (i.e. the hard dangerous work of civil rights activists and the hand-wringing of the liberals) was ramifying through the institutions. Here we see Orr Roberts, by all accounts a decent man, trying to carve out some space.
What I think we can learn from this. Institutional racism is a thing. Individuals try to ameliorate it, but you need a system to change a system…
What happened next. The 60s ended in the late 1970s, with exhaustion, repression, and the beginnings of a successful “fightback” (that never ended, but was on the back foot for a bit). By 1981 it was “Morning in America” again…
There’s plenty of books about elements of this – I should make a list I guess.
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
References
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Also on this day:
May 1, 1971 – May Day anti-war actions in Washington DC – All Our Yesterdays
May 1, 1980 – ABC talks about atmospheric carbon dioxide measurement
May 1, 1996 – US Congressman says climate research money is “money down a rat hole