Workshop

The overarching goal of the 2025 Workshop on Mathematics and Racial Justice is to extend our explorations of how the mathematical sciences plays a central role in today's movement for racial justice. We will examine the various systems identified in the 2021 Math and Racial Justice workshop and consider the impact of these systems on BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) communities.  This workshop defines racial justice as the result of intentional, active and sustained anti-racist practices that identify and dismantle racist structures and policies that operate to oppress, disenfranchise, harm, and devalue BIPOC people. This workshop will bring together mathematicians, statisticians, computer scientists, STEM educators, and members of the general public interested in using the tools of these disciplines to critically examine and eradicate racial disparities in society. Researchers with expertise or interest in problems at the intersection of the mathematical sciences and racial justice are strongly encouraged to participate. Thanks to funding from the Mathematical Sciences Institutes Diversity Initiative, there is financial support available for a limited number of attendees. This in-person workshop will take place over three days, May 7-9, 2025, at SLMath in Berkeley, CA. The themes for this year’s workshop are 1) developing racial literacy, 2) science and technology studies, 3) law and policy, and 4) education. Mathematics is often viewed as one of the main tools responsible for scientific progress, and developments in mathematics are behind some of society’s most significant technological advancements. While mathematics has often been used to enhance societal progress, there are well-documented instances of mathematics also being used as a tool of racial oppression. Mathematicians have increasingly been answering the call to engage with issues of social justice in their research, in their teaching, in their institutions, and in the broader mathematical sciences community. Quantitative justice is a field which uses the tools of mathematics to interrogate and repair the inequities faced by marginalized communities. This workshop is a part of that movement and makes the distinct contribution of centering issues of mathematics and racial justice. With funding from the National Science Foundation, the Mathematical Sciences Institutes Diversity Initiative (MSIDI) is a collaboration among the mathematical sciences institutes to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in the mathematical sciences, including women, underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities, and persons with disabilities.