Back in the ‘80s, as a budding geoscientist, David Padgett was immersed in numbers – and he saw no connection between his studies of the Earth and his concerns about equity and justice.
Then in grad school, he learned about the environmental justice movement. And he realized he could use his skills to help communities struggling with pollution, flooding, and other environmental harms.
Padgett: “And it was like a light went off! I thought, ‘Wow!’”
Today, he’s an associate professor at Tennessee State University. And he also spends a lot of time assisting communities who are fighting polluting industrial development or making the case for stronger flood protections.
With his expertise, he can help communities gather and sort through scientific data that can help strengthen their arguments.
And he says people of color who have suffered racial injustices often feel more comfortable working with a Black scientist like him.
Padgett: “There are trust issues involved. … I’ve had communities specifically say, ‘We want an African American hydrogeologist who’s in the middle Tennessee area to help us.’ I’m like, ‘You’re stuck with me. I’m it.’ But I don’t want to be it. I want to be able to say, ‘Oh, yeah, well, there’s also this person here and that person there.’”
So he hopes more young Black people will see a career in the geosciences as a powerful way to help communities in need.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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