Cross-post: Defying the Stereotype of Black Resilience

Cross-post: Defying the Stereotype of Black Resilience

(Original article written by Jyoti Madhusoodanana for Nature.com, May 30, 2024)

Kaela S. Singleton has pushed back against Black stereotypes again and again as she pursued her PhD in neuroscience and then made a career shift to nonprofit leadership. Singleton faced common assumptions and myths about Black students in academia. In 2020, she co-founded Black in Neuro, a community for Black researchers in neuroscience and their allies. This network provides mentorship and professional development for Black researchers in the field.

 

Image Credit: Kaela S. Singlton at kss-phd.com.

Singleton also finds herself confronting racism and has found ways to engage others about it, even when it makes both parties uncomfortable.  “A lot of times, it comes down to just having conversations and being direct with people,” Singleton says in her Nature.com interview. She also discusses the myths of Black resilience and changing her mind about her career direction after receiving her PhD. 

Read Singleton’s full interview Defying the stereotype of Black resilience at nature.com.

Learn more about the history of Black History Month at ASALH - The Founders of Black History Month. 

Find out more about what drives Kaela Singleton, read her bio, and view copies of her successful applications (free resources for others to view) at Kaela S. Singleton, PhD.