Scientists should counter the myth of biological race

The University of Pennsylvania’s medical school apologized last month for unethical experiments on incarcerated, mostly Black men, often without their consent, conducted by longtime faculty member Albert Kligman. In response, Adrienne D. Jones-Alston, daughter of one of the men experimented on, urged Penn to go beyond its apology to “build trust about medical research” and argued for concrete investments in Black lives.

We agree that these efforts are critical. We would add that it is also critical for those in the medical and scientific professions to acknowledge their role in perpetuating the lie that there are different races of humans to begin with — that “races” represent biologically distinct groups.

Science educators, in particular, must speak out with one voice in declaring that there is no biological basis for race. Simultaneously, we must do the difficult — but morally necessary — work of reevaluating scientific studies and medical practices with an eye toward rooting out those that continue to function under the false notion that there is a biological basis for race in humans.

The challenge for science educators is...