The Founding of the Black in Physiology Community

APS Executive Director Scott Steen, CAE, FASAE, spoke to Adrienne King, PhD, assistant clinical professor at Georgia State University and parliamentarian of Black in Physiology (BiP), about the creation of the BiP community and the short- and long-term effects that BiP leaders hope their work will have on physiologists of color and the discipline of physiology. Here’s an excerpt of their conversation.

Steen: Tell me about the origin story of Black in Physiology. Why was the group established, and what are some of the high-level goals?

King: In the summer of 2020, a group of us, as we all do as friends, just kind of got together and were talking and brainstorming about what we can do to make sure that minority populations of people have a space where we can come together and do good science and have a community. That’s really how it started, just a conversation, us getting together.

We have four members that are the founders, and then two more of us got brought in as well. We have between about 50 to 75 active participants in our community right now. Our mission is to fortify a community of Black physiologists by enhancing visibility and ensuring that there are resources, support and guidance readily available for all career stages, from undergrad all the way up. Even me, an assistant professor, and whether you’re an associate professor. Even if you’re outside of academia—one of our executive board members is in industry. 

Steen: I think this is such a needed mission. 2021 data from the Pew Research Center found Black researchers make up about 6% of the life science workforce. The number of Black physiology faculty in the U.S. is about 1%. It’s abysmal. Can you talk a little bit about why you think these numbers are what they are, especially given the focus on increasing the number of Black people in STEM fields?

King: I think there are a number of different reasons. We would think that over the course of these many decades and years that the number would have increased. But, as we see from the data, our numbers are still kind of the same. They’re really not increasing. … And I will say that is one of the reasons Black in Physiology was created, too. Sometimes there’s just not a community. You don’t know as an undergrad that this is something that you can do because you don’t see people that look like you sometimes.

Steen: Yeah, you see Black physicians, so there’s a community developing on the clinical side, but I think on the research side, you see it a lot less.

King: Yeah. Even with myself, as an example … when I got my master’s, when I got my PhD, when I did my postdoc, the numbers started significantly decreasing in areas where I didn’t see people that look like me. 

“Representation matters. So, since we are here, and we know that we have an ally with APS, then it should be cultivated.”

Adrienne King, PhD

Steen: As executive director of APS, I want to ask you what we should be doing, what APS can be doing to support the community, to support Black scientists, to support our Black members, and to share in the goals that Black in Physiology has. Because I think we share the sort of passion for this that we need, that we will be a better discipline and a richer discipline and a more effective discipline the more diverse we are, the more welcoming we are, the more inclusive we are. We know we have work to do.

King: I think having support from leadership [is important], in terms of saying, “This is an initiative.” I think APS has gone in the right direction with that, especially with the DEI initiative. But I still think there’s always more work that can be done and should be done. And I know it can’t all happen at one time, but in terms of providing a space and a welcoming environment, that does start with things I think that APS is trying to do, like some of the DEI initiatives with the webinars and the seminars.

I think you have to allow people the space and the understanding to know that these things are important. You’ve got to do some education. Now, whether people want to accept it and take it in, then that’s up to them. But providing people the information, providing the opportunities for leadership roles and mentorship roles—because a lot of times if you are not aware of how an organization works, then you don’t know what you need to do sometimes to get in a leadership position. And for a very long time, I will say, I was not exactly sure how APS worked. And I think that has become a little bit clearer.

Steen: We’ve tried to put it all on the website now. We lay out the process as exact as we can because I’ve heard the same thing: that it’s like people go into a room and smoke comes up, and there’s this big mystery of how you rise in the organization.

King: Exactly. And as I stated, I think APS is doing a better job of that. And that helps us as Black scientists know, “OK, this is what I need to do to be prepared in these situations.” Now, if they did not choose me, it’s not because I was not prepared, because I knew the process. But if I didn’t even know the process, then I have no idea. So, I think that that is one initiative that I have seen in the last couple of years that has had some more clarity. And I am definitely appreciative of that. I still think, of course, there’s always more work that can be done, but I do appreciate that and I have seen that.

Representation matters. So, since we are here, and we know that we have an ally with APS, then it should be cultivated. 

This article was originally published in the November 2022 issue of The Physiologist Magazine.