OHBM Statement - George Floyd and Black Lives Matter

By the OHBM Diversity and Inclusivity Committee (and endorsed by OHBM Council)

We share the deep sadness, outrage, and frustration that many around the world have felt in reaction to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and too many other innocent Black people over the years. As an international organization that strives to represent a diverse and vibrant global community of researchers studying the human brain, OHBM itself has struggled over its 25 years to incorporate initiatives and policies that reflect our values of inclusivity, tolerance, and respect.
The events of these past weeks are a grim reminder that words alone are not enough to combat the systemic racism that plagues societies across the world, and we recognize that we have not done enough to support Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. To this, we also add other groups, such as people with disabilities for which as an organization we may not have provided sufficient support. The past few days have been a period of inward contemplation for us. The events of last week enraged us, and our first urge was to publicly denounce them. Cautious voices advised us against issuing a statement that is not followed by concrete actions. They were right. Since then we, on the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee have had detailed discussions about how we can meaningfully contribute to the conversation and truly make a difference to make our organization a welcome, safe environment that educates and supports each and every member of our group.

In the spirit of openness, we share with you a non-exhaustive list of concrete actions OHBM plans to undertake over the coming months to affirm our commitment to creating and maintaining a supportive environment for all OHBM members, especially those who are historically underrepresented and marginalized. Our goal is to particularly support the Black community within OHBM, increase its representation, and address anti-Black racism. We understand that we have not done enough for this community yet, but we would like to change that in the near future.

The OHBM Council, the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee, and the Program Committee will work together with various other OHBM special interest groups and committees to implement the following:

1. Maintaining archives of our membership demographic. A data-gathering phase will be initiated to formally allow us to examine historical trends in OHBM membership, so that we can explicitly assess the level of participation from historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. We will continue this activity so that we can regularly take a temperature check of our diversity and inclusivity waters. Similar, but less extensive, past efforts by the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee have explicitly resulted in the significant expansion of gender and geographical diversity within OHBM Council and Committees over the past several years. See: https://www.ohbmbrainmappingblog.com/blog/diversity-and-equitable-representation-among-leadership-and-educational-roles-within-ohbm
   
   
2. Survey to provide a picture of member views. A member survey with anonymous response capability will be conducted across the entire OHBM membership to assess whether members feel safe and welcome and have access to all facilities necessary to them in our organization, at our conferences and at educational and satellite activities. The survey will eventually turn to a permanent facility for anonymous feedback to our activities, the aim of which will be to identify concerns and flag problems, for planning and implementing corrective action.
   
   
3. Crafting future actions based on data from the member survey. Based on the findings emerging from these data, we will seek expert guidance via specific organizations and/or our colleagues in the sociology and social psychology spheres, so that we can plan and implement new diversity initiatives in the areas where they are most acutely needed.
   
   
4. Expanding mentoring initiatives. We will work together with the very active OHBM Student & Postdoc SIG to expand our current mentoring initiatives to foster mentoring relationships between underrepresented minority junior scientists and senior researchers. Activities will include not only discussion, but also mentor support in writing job application letters, as well as grant proposals. See: https://www.ohbmtrainees.com/mentoring-programme
   
   
5. Changes to the scientific program. The existing Diversity Round Table that has already been incorporated into the annual OHBM meeting for the past two years will be scheduled to maximize member participation.
   See: https://www.pathlms.com/ohbm/courses/12238/sections/15843/video_presentations/137799
   
   
6. Changes to OHBM General Assembly and Feedback Forum [GAFF]. GAFF typically takes place during the annual meeting. Going forward, we will increase the time set aside for GAFF to explicitly encourage discussion of diversity-related issues among OHBM attendees and leadership during each yearly meeting.
   
   
7. Responding to violations of the Code of Conduct. We have a OHBM Code of Conduct developed by the Diversity and Inclusivity Committee that provides for anonymous reporting of behavior that threatens the physical or emotional safety of any individual, to be addressed in consultation with OHBM Council. See: https://www.humanbrainmapping.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3846
   
   
8. Additions to OHBM website. Additional resources for OHBM members at all levels related to diversity will be made available on a new ‘Diversity’ page on the OHBM website, which will be continuously updated.
   
   

As your professional Society, we vow to continue to work together to overcome the challenges of today and build a better tomorrow. We don't have all the answers yet, but we will actively search for them and continue to support you as we tackle the challenges ahead. This effort may mean having some difficult conversations, but they are necessary so that we can implement collaborative solutions together.