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SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND BLACK COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Robert C. Johnson Some may consider it odd to find included on the agenda of Black people a topic such as that being presented in this article. Some may ask what do science and technology have to do with Black survival and progress? What do they have to do with urban areas? It is my purpose today to explore the thesis that scientific breakthroughs and technological developments affect Black Americans in very profound, pervasive and substantial manners. So much so that I would argue that without examining and being aware of these various developments, Black Americans risk being subjugated to the vicissitudes of scientific and technological forces which are as oppressive, demeaning and domineering as are the socioeconomic and political forces of racism and exploitation. I would further maintain that we should go beyond simply becoming aware of these occurrences and begin to make such concerns a top priority in our agendas and programs. Our political and economic advocacies and strategies should entail concerns of a technological and scientific nature, and these should have as much priority as economic development and civil rights. As a matter of fact, I hope to illustrate how these technological and scientific concerns are intricately interwoven with these other political, economic and social matters. I will, indeed, argue that our very existence, and continued survival, growth, and even prosperity in this society and in the world are very much dependent upon the various developments and emerging political debates occurring within the areas of science and technology. One reason why many people may express reservations about the role of science and technology in Black community affairs is because of the popular view of these two phenomena. Science is generally viewed as some remote, isolated process that occurs by a handful of people in faraway laboratories, wearing white coats and working with test tubes and animals. Technology is viewed as that wonderful process by which marvelous inventions and gadgets are brought into existence. Furthermore, this vision of people in white coats performing miracles is further complicated by the fact that these persons wearing white coats also wear white faces in the popular image. We may have had occasion to hear some Black people use the expression "W-W-M-S-T," which translates to mean "Won- SCIENCE AND BLACK COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT / 459 ders of the White Man's Science and Technology." Those five letters summarize quite succinctly the whole idea that science and technology are wonders and miracle processes that are somehow created magically and mysteriously by whites. Such a view is both erroneous and dangerous. It is erroneous because the history of Black Americans and the history of Africans tells us that people of African descent have been in the forefront of scientific and technological breakthroughs and have laid the foundation for much of what we currently know as science and technology. It is further erroneous because it assumes that Blacks have been excluded from the scientific and technological process, that process of discovering, manipulating, and creating from natural phenomena goods, products , and devices that can be used for social and human purposes. The very fact that Black people have survived and have built and maintained cultures and civilizations demonstrates that they have made judicious use of scientific and technological principles, and have manipulated natural phenomena for their own collective benefit. This popular view of science and technology is also dangerous because it implies that only whites can do science and technology, that Blacks either cannot or should not be part of this process. Furthermore, in a very insidious , albeit indirect manner, it implies that Black people are not capable of producing in these domains. It is dangerous because it leaves the scientific and technological fate of Black people to others who may not and probably do not have their interests at heart. Such a view removes us from direct participation in and involvement with two aspects of our lives which are growing more and more important in governing and determining the quality of life that we will face on this planet. Science is generally thought of, at least by the scientific community, as being the process of discovering, explaining and predicting natural phenomena, usually for the purpose of trying to acquire some type of control over these phenomena. We may simply define science as knowledge. (It is defined in Webster as "the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by mankind.") Technology, on the other hand, is the application...

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