2023 Recap: BINW23, SfN Social, and Membership Growth
It’s (almost) that time of year again! Can you believe we’re four weeks away from our FIFTH annual Black In Neuro Week? As always, the team is hard at work with all the behind-the-scenes tasks that make the week run smoothly. In anticipation of Black In Neuro Week 2024 (BINW24), let’s revisit the impact of BINW23 and our events at SfN 2023, as well as how our membership has grown over the past year.
BINW23
Alt text: Black In Neuro Week 2023 overview graphic. Brown banner at top reads: “Black In Neuro Week 2023. Juy 24-30.” Below are seven white boxes surrounded by a green, orange, blue, gold, teal, purple, and red border, respectively. Each box summarizes a day’s theme as follows: “Mon. July 24 #BlackInNeuroRollCall. Introducing the #BlackInNeuro community to the world by amplifying each other! Tues. July 25 #NeuroAcrossTheDiaspora. Join us to celebrate our BIN community across the diaspora as we hear from a range of academics outside the US, UK and Canada. Wed. July 26 #NeuroRacism Join us as we explore ongoing racism in neuroscience-related fields, and ways to dismantle it. Thurs. July 27 #BlackJourneyToNeuro. We will use this day to highlight and celebrate the diverse journeys taken within the BIN community. Fri July 28 #BlackInNeuroCareers. The day is dedicated to offering career advancement techniques for those in neuroscience-related fields. Sat. July 29 #BlackJoyInNeuro. We want to use the day to build community and spread joy by meeting up with Black In Neuro members in your local community. Sun. July 30 #BlackRestInNeuro. Sharing the things we do to protect our peace and mental health as we continue to thrive in neuroscience.” The Black In Neuro logo is in the bottom left corner alongside “#BINW23.”
Black In Neuro Week 2023 (BINW23) was held virtually and in-person from July 24–30, 2023. As always, our events were free and open to the public.
We had hundreds of registrants and around a thousand attendees including livestream and recording viewers. Check out the recordings of BINW23 events on our YouTube channel.
Registrants tuned in from 35 countries. The majority were based in the United States (81%), followed by Nigeria, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Within the United States, the top represented states were New York, Massachusetts, Georgia, California, and Maryland. To amplify our international community, we shared the stories of Black In Neuro community members in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, South Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, China, and Australia using #BlackInNeuroWorld.
On Twitter alone, we had 621K impressions over the week. Search #BINW23 and daily hashtags for a snapshot of the week’s events. For example, we kicked off the week with 150+ Black students, faculty, clinicians, technicians, and career professionals from around the world checking in and introducing themselves with #BlackInNeuroRollCall.
The majority (~60%) of registrants were graduate students and post baccalaureate/undergraduate students. Faculty, postdocs, and research associates/staff were the other most common career stages registered for the event.
We held our first official in-person BINW events to celebrate #BlackJoyInNeuro. Eight community meet-ups were held in 8 cities in Nigeria, Canada, and the United States.
“BIN Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year! I always look forward to my timeline filling up with Black neuroscientists, and it expands my community further as the years go by.” –BIN Community Member
Alt text: Title reads: “2023 Recap: BIN Week Meetups.” Below, 8 photos (4 across, 2 down) show groups of Black people smiling. From top left to bottom right: 4 people in Ibadan, Nigeria doing peace signs outside; 15 people in New York, NY at a picnic; 14 people in Minneapolis, MN posing outside; 3 people in Chicago, IL surrounded by plants; 5 people in Montreal, Canada at the TimeOut Market; 6 people in Los Angeles, CA having brunch; 14 people in Boston, MA posing outside; and 9 people in Atlanta, GA at a dining table.
SfN23
We made our mark at the Society for Neuroscience 2023 conference held in Washington, D.C. from November 11–15, 2023. Black In Neuro held two events on Sunday Nov 12, 2023.
We were thrilled to host our first ever in-person professional development workshop: “How I Survived Grad School: Perspectives from Black In Neuro.” The room was packed, with over 180 attendees.
Later that day, we held our second BIN @ SfN networking social. It was amazing seeing over 100 new and familiar faces, networking, and even playing BINgo.
To help connect our community at the conference, we compiled 20 presenting BIN members’ abstracts along with our event information in a BIN@SfN booklet. We printed 150 booklets and interest was so high that we ran out! We also distributed BIN badge ribbons throughout the conference.
“This was my first time interacting with BIN and I enjoyed it so much! It’s great to know that there’s an established community for black people in neuro and I’m looking forward to getting more involved over the years.” –BIN SfN 2023 Event Attendee
Alt text: Title reads: “2023 Recap: BINW23, SfN Social, and Membership Growth.” Below, 5 photos show attendees at BIN events at the SfN 2023 conference. Top: A large conference room with over 150 people seated, smiling. Caption reads: “‘How I Survived Grad School: Perspectives from Black In Neuro’ Workshop.” Middle left: 25 Black people smiling. Caption reads: “BIN@SfN Social Undergrads, lab techs & post baccs.” Middle right: A large group of over 50 Black people smiling. Caption reads: “BIN@SfN Social Grad students.” Bottom left: 21 Black people smiling. Caption reads: “BIN@SfN Social Postdocs.” Bottom right: Over 30 Black people smiling. Caption reads: “BIN@SfN Faculty and career professionals.”
Membership
Black In Neuro members are featured in our member directory, where they can list their location, interests and expertise, and whether they are available for speaking engagements, recruitment opportunities, or career advice. Our largest membership spikes are associated with Black In Neuro Week and the Society for Neuroscience annual conference.
Over the past year (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024), our membership grew by 25% (240 new members). As of June 2024, the Black In Neuro community consists of over 1,200 members.
Members who reported their current geographic location hailed from 41 countries across 6 continents. Similar to the turnout for previous years, the majority of members were in the United States (75%), followed by Nigeria (9.3%), Canada (4.4%), and the United Kingdom (2.3%).
Our membership represents a range of career stages, with the majority being graduate students (37%), followed by post-baccalaureate and undergraduate students (25%). We also have representation from faculty (10%), postdocs (5.9%), research associates and staff (5.6%), and medical students (3.9%). Additionally, our community includes professionals from healthcare (3.6%), industry (2.5%), non-profit and foundation, government, medical residents or fellows, and academic administrator professionals respectively.
We can’t wait to see what this new year brings! Thank you for your continued engagement and for keeping the Black In Neuro community alive. We can’t wait to connect with you at BINW24!
Upcoming Events
Check out our website or social media for links to register for our upcoming events!
Monday, July 29 - August 4, 2024 - Black In Neuro Week, with a full week of events, including (but not limited to!) a seminar from our Seminar Series committee and a workshop from our Professional Development committee
Seminar Series (BINW24 Keynote)
Tuesday, July 30, 2024 @ 12PM EST - Dr. Joseph Kamtchum Tatuene, “Biomarkers and ethnic differences in carotid atherosclerosis and stroke risk factors”
Professional Development
Python programming workshop during Black In Neuro Week with hands on activities
Seminar Series
Friday, November 1, 2024 @ 12PM EST - Grad student Seminar Presentation, Chelesa Fearce
Alt text: A vibrant announcement for Black In Neuro Week 2024, detailing the event schedule from July 29- August 4. The central text, "Black In Neuro Week 2024," is displayed in an orange circle. Each day of the week is listed with a specific hashtag theme: Monday, July 29: #BlackInNeuro RollCall (in a yellow bubble). Tuesday, July 30: #NeuroAcrossTheDiaspora (in a light green bubble). Wednesday, July 31: #BlackInNeuroCareers (in a blue bubble). Thursday, August 1: #NeuroRacism (in a light blue bubble). Friday, August 2: #BlackInNeuroFutures (in a purple bubble). Saturday, August 3: #BlackJoyInNeuro (in a light pink bubble). Sunday, August 4: #BlackRestInNeuro (in a red bubble). The design includes the hashtag #BINW24 and the Black In Neuro logo located in the bottom left corner.
This blog post was thoughtfully prepared by our Reports Committee, comprised of Monica, Danielle, Nicole, Darielle, Almarely, Amirah, and Victoria as well as the Black In Neuro team. We deeply appreciate their contributions and dedication. For more information, please reach out to us at reports@blackinneuro.com.
