“This incident is by no means unique. It represents just one of about 300 such stories that I’ve collected over the past decade as a researcher of structural racism in STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math.

Through my research, I’ve come to see that — for Black and Hispanic STEM students — these instances of being stereotyped are quite common. Consequently, these students experience a sort of racial fatigue. No matter what they do, they cannot shake the perception among certain White colleagues and collaborators that they don’t belong.”