And now, something much more serious from The Guardian: an opinion piece by African-American mathematician Jonathan Farley on racism in mathematics.
[T]here are no black winners of the Fields medal, the "Nobel prize of mathematics". [...] In reality, black mathematicians face career-retarding racism that white Fields medallists never encounter. Three stories will suffice to make this point.
He then goes on to narrate three very depressing stories, the last one about himself. It makes for sobering reading, and it does resonate with the stories we've been hearing about what it's like to be a member of a racial minority in the philosophy profession as well.
UPDATE: On a positive note, it occurred to me that, in this context, it would also be fitting to highlight the Infinite Possibilities series of conferences, whose aim is to celebrate and promote diversity in the mathematical sciences both on the gender and the ethnic/racial dimension. It is a conference "designed to promote, educate, encourage and support minority women interested in mathematics and statistics." The latest installment took place a few weeks ago, and had my fellow country-woman Valeria de Paiva among the keynote speakers. A wonderful initiative!
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