The Real McCoy
Corporate spaces are melanin-void places.
I started a new job in 2020. In this job, we celebrate the power of engineering, technology, and biology; the power of STEM. What’s often missing from corporate STEM is A – A for atypical, A for anti-establishment, A for anti-systemic oppression, A for anti-racism, A for my Aboriginal brothers and sisters, and A for my African-descended brothers and sisters. In my first week, in our brand-new office, we were given the task of naming meeting rooms after prolific Canadian STEM contributors. White man after white man after white man after white man after Roberta Bondar was suggested. I decided not to ignore A and pushed full STEAM ahead with Mr. Elijah McCoy (born May 2, 1844).
