Diversity in the Chemistry Curriculum
Recently, I was reading an article about my favorite singer, Chaka Khan reflecting on the longevity of her career and offering some candid advice about being successful. (In my previous life, I truly believe that I sang backup for Chaka, but in this current life I can’t sing at all, but I digress.) Anyway, there was one statement in this article that really stood out to me, namely “create opportunities that align with your purpose.” Now, the Queen of Funk Soul was not talking about bringing diversity into the chemistry curriculum, but it made me think about some of my own passions, specifically writing about the contributions African Americans have made to the chemical sciences. Personally, I grew tired of not seeing pictures or reading about the contributions of chemists that looked like me in chemistry textbooks, so I just started writing about these scientists to tell their stories. But how could I bring this into the classroom? How could I bring diversity into the chemistry cu