Where are they and what can we do?
This article was originally published in Substack
Rose Ferreira
At the beginning of the month, NASA took down a page about Rose Ferreira — and then restored it. They restored it because of public outcry, the ‘optics’ and, finally and most importantly, because Rose is the living embodiment of a success story, a Woman in Science success story! Her full story is linked here and I urge everyone to read it, about how she overcame challenges growing up in the Dominican Republic, emigrating to the United States and, overcoming many obstacles, now works for NASA! Rose is an outspoken supporter of science, a role model for everyone, especially for women and Latinas in Science, something that is championed at Astronomy For Change.
Rose loves human exploration of space and human space flight, and is a big fan of the Space Shuttle. Credit: Rose DF
To continue, let Rose tell part of her story:
“I decided to become unapologetic about my life because not everyone is born into good circumstances or is able to follow ‘traditional’ paths in life. Some individuals rely on survival to even dare to dream. Perseverance can become one’s greatest power.”
You see, the part about Rose’s story and many other immigrants who have made this country what it is today, is that many never have ‘good circumstances’, where they can follow ‘traditional’ paths in life or a ‘normal’ or ‘legal’ path to citizenship. It’s a safe bet that almost every one of their stories is uniquely difficult, containing a host of hardships those born here could never imagine or perhaps even overcome.
Extrapolating on Rose’s comments, this trope, the ‘legal’ or ‘normal path to citizenship’ is the argument so many racists and those born into privilege here use to deny what they and so many Americans take for granted: “Birthright Citizenship”, or the opportunity to make this country their home and contribute to it’s collective success.
Albert Einstein
Rose’s story is like so many immigrant success stories. In the case of Albert Einstein, for example, ask yourself “what did he contribute to this country”, a country that he finally called home at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study. In his own words, words that embody the immigrant spirit, the spirit of opportunity and success engraved at the foot of the Statue of Liberty:
as long as I have any choice I will only stay in a country where political liberty, toleration, and equality of all citizens before the law is the rule.
Steve Jobs
The famous filmmaker Michael Moore recently published a story about another consequential immigrant’s success story, a story I encourage everyone to read.
Attacks on Science
That NASA, of all agencies, would take down -and then restore- the page of one of its own speaks volumes about what is happening.
This action, no doubt, is the result of NASA’s new policy, via executive fiat, to scrub all mentions of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion on all public-facing pages. The removal of Rose Ferreira’s page, including all mentions of indigenous people and women was, no doubt, enforced by Trump’s pick for NASA administrator tech billionaire and Musk buddy Jared Isaacman.
NASA is a public agency, the civilian face of the United States’ pursuit of the final frontier, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, the Astronaut Corps, culminating with the Apollo Moon program, inspired a generation to reach for the stars and so we did. Those generations, Boomers or older Generation-X’ers, are rapidly diminishing in numbers and are not being replaced. The face of the agency now is an ugly caricature of what it used to be.
Dedication to public service, the good of the many in deference to the good of the few, is a value that has died a slow death over the intervening 4 decades since Ronald Reagan introduced NeoLiberalism and its failed “trickle-down economics”.
February is Black History Month, a time when we, as a nation, celebrate the contributions to our collective good by people of color. NASA is not the least recipient of this good, of their talent and intellectual acumen. In fact, a documentary was produced, highlighting the lives and contributions of 3 women of color who worked at the agency.
With that history as a backdrop, that Rose’s page was taken down and that such a racist directive was issued -and enforced by NASA leadership- during this month is an affront to decency, a sad day for NASA and an utter disgrace!
This war on science and the legacy of those immigrants who contributed so mightily to the cause of science in this country brings to mind the last book published by the late, great Carl Sagan entitled:
The Demon-Haunted World, Science as a Candle in the Dark
The Call to Resist
We can resist this assault on science and the government agencies who use it for the public good and in the public interest.
Contact your elected representatives in the US House of Representatives and the Senate.
Start with the House as they control the purse. Find out how your representative votes and insist they support the cause of science in all government agencies, to stop cuts to education, resist the Administration’s expressed desire to gut the US Department of Education and to make sure the government agencies who use science and who employ professional scientists (like NASA and NOAA) are fully funded.
Resist and Stand Up for Science
March 7th nationwide rally to support one of our most important human endeavors
Stand Up For Science is a nationwide rally held on March 7th to protest -and resist- the attacks on science and scientists.
The nationwide rallies will be held to resist the Trump Administration’s wholesale attack on science, all organized under the umbrella Stand Up For Science.
This is a grassroots event, dreamed up and implemented by a group of just five early-career scientists. They’re on social media (notably Bluesky) and started talking about it, with many more jumping in to help since. They now have over 100 volunteers, and are planning simultaneous rallies in a dozen states with many more in the works. If you want to help in your state, let them know!
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