Mathematics and Social Justice

These are resources that helped me to learn to understand and treat people better, and strive for justice, in my profession:

  • Francis Su’s book Mathematics for Human Flourishing shows how mathematics can serve our fundamental human needs for beauty, truth, and justice, while also showing the struggles of those who have not been welcomed by the profession.
  • Erica Walker’s book Beyond Banneker chronicles the achievements of Black mathematicians in the U.S., and how their support networks and Historically Black Colleges and Universities instilled a love of mathematics and equipped them to succeed in spite of past and present racism. It has vital lessons for how we teach and learn mathematics.
  • The Just Mathematics Collective aims to free mathematics from its ties to militarism, colonialism, and other ethically problematic funding sources and applications.
  • The twice yearly conference paraDIGMS: Diversity in Graduate Mathematical Sciences discusses how mathematicians can support diversity and make their profession truly fair and inclusive.
  • This article by Samuel Hansen lists resources for opposing racism in mathematics.