Participate

I really enjoyed seeing some of the people that I knew were from that neighborhood come out and experience Cascade Road in a different way. And it was good to see some of the families come out and have some leisure time and be able to interact with their neighborhood in a way that like I said, at the beginning of the call that they don't normally get the chance too, because its such a busy thoroughfare. And also because it's a place where between the grind of going to work, going to school X, Y, and Z, you never stop to think, "Okay, how beautiful is this neighborhood in this street?" And the history that's on this street is so important to black Atlanta as well. So for me, I always respect... Like the hashtag says respect, cascade. And you think about, it's a very strong community there that is under assault in some ways, but also was very strong and has lots of resources that are there. And I think in many ways, if partners could look at those neighborhoods like that and think about, "Okay, what are the strengths of this neighborhood and how can we build upon those particular strengths that exist here and then rather than figuring out, "Okay, what's lacking here? How do we meet that lack?" But more so how to we be with working here and how can we contribute the most working here? I think that'd be a cool way to think about different initiatives in this particular neighborhood and similar ones like it.

There's a huge gap, between people who have access to the kinds of outreach that scientists think are effective, and the actual people who can attend. And so what I really loved about Dragon Con's parade, is that, and actually this is my commentary, but people hopped on the train, and they arrived. It wasn't some deep registration process, or some huge vetting. It was just, "If you can make it, show up here." And I think the value of that, is not lost on someone like me, who's really thinking about science engagement. Like I said, it may not be the learning process that we're all dreaming of, but that relationship, and trust will take time, and an investment from different organizations to build. And so if I only show up in your neighborhood one time, and try to teach you about science you should know, then you're going to look at me like, "Who are you? Why do you matter?" But if you can see me repeatedly making investments in different spaces, in different environments, even a branding principle, is the more you see a brand, the more likely you are to trust it, or to recognize it. And so, in the science engagement space, a lot of the white savior science communicators don't seem to get, that underserved communities are not grateful for you showing up, and trying to teach us. In the instances where you can be present, where you can contribute without any expectation of reciprocity to a community, I think that those only help to strengthen the reputation you have. And so, if I were making a case for people with the money to spend on this stuff, I would absolutely encourage them. Even if it is providing providing a booth, or providing labor for a booth, or if it's walking in a parade, those kinds of things add up to ultimately a trust, that communities can place, and you will make them recognize you. Sorry. I'm very passionate about this. Because I just see a lot of science communication that just drops into a community, and then runs out when they feel they fulfill their own personal mission, without really listening or finding other ways to be present for these communities.

What was profound to me is that it was so clear how much the Flagstaff Festival of Science and science itself is such a part of the fabric of the community. We were kind of looking at it when we went in as the Fourth of July parade is this thing and we're this thing. Is this going to blend? Does this make any sense? Is this going to be weird? We're not a marching band. We're not demonstrating something with dancers. We're not jumping around necessarily. We're showcasing something else where ours is more of an imagination of the mind, a journey of the mind, perhaps, and if you go that deep with the Science, but if you bring it down to what excites kids, you get there. You get there with what is fun to showcase but I think my takeaway from this would be and something that I believe the board of directors would back me on this in the festival is that it's important to be part of the fabric of the community. We're not just as other thing. We're integrated heavily into this community and it's not a surprise that we're in the parade after all. We should be in the parade. People are happy to have us in the parade and may well expect us to be in the parade in years to come. It's not just a fringy thing to do just because somebody likes parades. It's something that shows support for the community, shows how integrated we are in the community and offers a lot of visibility to the general audience. The general audience includes people from outside the Flagstaff area. It can include all ages. It includes families who can walk down the street go to this parade and don't necessarily have the background or a family support of being taken to be exposed to science events. For all those reasons, it seems so right and not a tough sell anymore when you're talking to other festivals or you're talking to festival board members or donors. It just makes sense and you can make that case for why you need to show up in places like this.

One of the big benefits is exposure, really what happens a lot is that you get scientists, science professionals that are interested, really genuinely in talking to the community, but I do not know how to do that. I don't know where they are. I intend to tweet about my research. And it's like, yeah, sure, that's fine. But why would anyone read that? So these community level events and saying that well, if you are interested, one way that you can reach people in your community is by going to where people in your community are, is a thing that sounds very simple, but people don't think about it that way. And so I think that that is a huge selling point for these types of events for people that are interested in getting what they do out there and connecting with the community, when they just honestly don't know how to do that.