Social Justice

Inactions on racism, particularly racism against Black people, contribute and help sustain White supremacism culture within academia and in society at-large. Our lab endeavors to advance the science of sustainable agriculture with the intention of improving food systems, including making food systems more just and equitable. With direct antiracist education and actions, this goal can become a reality.

Agriculture in the United States is particularly steeped in racism. Black voices in farming are widely unrecognized and the historical contributions by Black farmers and researchers have been marginalized. Simply highlighting the on-going oppression of Black voices and Black bodies is also problematic, and thus we pledge to lift up and highlight the achievements of Black agrarians and work to create an inclusive research space within our lab and the discipline more broadly.

Our lab agrees that for highest impact, antiracist actions need to happen at all levels of organization, from individual labs, departments, colleges, to the entire university.

We, as a lab group, commit to taking the following steps:

  1. We will continue devoting time each month to reading works and engaging in exercises to self-educate about the history and current presence of racism in our country, the practice of anti-racism, and dismantling white privilege. We will seek out and actively listen to BIPOC voices on these topics.
  2. We will take the following specific actions so that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) students and trainees feel safe, welcome, and supported.
    1. Rotating lab members attend department/university trainings for social justice awareness for BIPOC.
    2. Provide intentional inclusiveness for BIPOC undergraduate students when joining our lab for summer research assistantships and continue offering paid undergraduate internships to enable participation and career advancement opportunities for low-income and underprivileged student populations.
    3. Work with student-run and university diversity organizations in the planning stages of outreach and educational activities to ensure use of inclusive language and creation of safe spaces
    4. Seek out diversity-associated groups at scientific conferences and attend their talks and poster sessions.
  3. We will center the voices of, advocate for, and learn from BIPOC in sustainable agriculture through engagement and promotion of their work.
    1. Develop curricula that confront systemic racism in agriculture and how race intersects with other individual characteristics (gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, etc.) that create unique forms of privilege and discrimination in food systems.
    2. Highlight research and scientific contributions of BIPOC scholars in classroom activities.
    3. Include modules on systemic racism and dispossession of Black Americans in agriculture in relevant classroom discussions.
  4. We will establish and foster relationships with local groups that work on food and agricultural justice, by attending events from local groups including:
    1. Friendship Donations Network
    2. Soul Fire Farm
    3. Youth Farm Project
    4. Groundswell Center for Local Food and Farming
  5. We will directly engage with groups and institutions at Cornell working to diversify STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) by:
    1. Recruiting undergraduate students to join our lab for summer assistantships from McNair Scholars and The State University of New York’s Educational Opportunity Programs, The Latinx Living Center, The National Societies of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Science Pre-College Initiative Program, and Graduate School Ambassadors Program.
    2. Participate in Diversity Preview Weekend and advocate for its full institutionalization at the Graduate School level. Commit to hosting at least one prospective student each year.
  6. We will explore ways to recognize and support Cornell University students and faculty who are leading diversity and inclusion activities beyond simple acknowledgement.
    1. Ideas include: writing a letter to SIPS to advocate for kudos to recognize social justice efforts, hiring a post-doc dedicated to work on diversity efforts in SIPS.
  7. We will commit to verbal acknowledgement before presentations, on our website, and in class syllabi, of the indigenous lands on which we live and work, including historic land seizures perpetrated by land grant institutions, while remembering that mere acknowledgement is not enough.
  8. At the Tri-Societies annual meetings we will attend and participate in Diversity Committee panel discussions and Diversity Poster Contests. We will encourage other academic societies (e.g., WSSA) to start similar committees, and share posters on diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts at presentations.
  9. When developing projects with collaborators, we will broach the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and share this statement to encourage them to develop their own anti-racist statement with actionable items appropriate to their area.
  10. We will devote one lab meeting per semester to review and evaluate these anti-racism efforts and adapt the pledge accordingly.

Members of the Cornell Sustainable Cropping Systems Lab

March 5, 2021

Matthew Ryan

Sandra Wayman

Ann Bybee-Finley

Dylan Rodgers

Eugene P. Law

Uriel D. Menalled

Jeff Liebert

Chris Pelzer

Kristen Loria

Caitlin Peterson