A marine science conference scheduled for October recently announced that white scientists who wish to attend the event will be hit with an entry fee.
The POSea 2021 Conference is hosted by organizations such as Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), Latinx in the Marine Sciences, Black in Marine Science (BIMS), Black Women in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Science (BWEEMS), Minorities in Aquarium and Zoo Science (MIAZS) and BIPOC in Ocean Science. It will be a virtual event “for the marine science BIPOC community” and will charge white scientists $10 to attend the conference, according to the event description.
The event page states that “allies are welcome to attend” if they purchase a “$10 ally ticket,” but the conference is free for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People Of Color) scientists.
Additionally, while white scientists will be allowed to attend the main conference events scheduled for Oct. 1-3, the conference states they will not be allowed to attend a July 31 “preview event,” described as “BIPOC only.” The stated goal of the conference is to provide professional opportunities for BIPOC scientists and a showcase for their work.
In June, the organizers of a pride event held in Seattle noted in a Facebook post that the event was “a black and brown queer trans centered, prioritized, valued, event.” They said that in order to keep the event free for those groups, white attendees of the event would pay anywhere from $10 to $50 in “reparations.”
The Seattle Human Rights Commission issued a statement saying the pride event had not violated “human rights as stipulated in the UN Declaration of Human Rights” following an intervention request from two of the event organizers. Philip Lipson and Charlette LeFevre described the “reparation fee” as “reverse discrimination in its worse form.”
The Daily Caller reached out to the event organizers of the POSea 2021 Conference for comment and did not receive an immediate reply.
*story by The Daily Caller
