CFSTheBear
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PBS has a documentary out about James D Watson, who sits on the board of OMF.
He won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for his role in the research that revealed the structure of DNA. Watson went on to serve as the first director of the Human Genome Project and founded Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. But in his later years, Watson began to express racist views. He was forced to leave his role as director of CSHL in 2007 after making racist remarks.
From a New York Times piece
Not sure how I feel about this guy being on the board of OMF? Clearly his early contributions to the field are impeccable, but those comments are seriously worrying. Anyway I thought I’d share the documentary in case anyone is interested in watching.
He won the Nobel Prize in 1962 for his role in the research that revealed the structure of DNA. Watson went on to serve as the first director of the Human Genome Project and founded Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. But in his later years, Watson began to express racist views. He was forced to leave his role as director of CSHL in 2007 after making racist remarks.
From a New York Times piece
In 2007, Dr. Watson, who shared a 1962 Nobel Prize for describing the double-helix structure of DNA, told a British journalist that he was “inherently gloomy about the prospect of Africa” because “all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours, whereas all the testing says, not really.”
Moreover, he added, although he wished everyone were equal, “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true.”
Dr. Watson’s comments reverberated around the world, and he was forced to retire from his job as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, although he retains an office there.
He apologized publicly and “unreservedly,’’ and in later interviews he sometimes suggested that he had been playing the provocateur — his trademark role — or had not understood that his comments would be made public.
Ever since, Dr. Watson, 90, has been largely absent from the public eye. His speaking invitations evaporated. In 2014, he became the first living Nobelist to sell his medal, citing a depleted income from having been designated a “nonperson.’’
But his remarks have lingered. They have been invoked to support white supremacist views, and scientists routinely excoriate Dr. Watson when his name surfaces on social media.
Not sure how I feel about this guy being on the board of OMF? Clearly his early contributions to the field are impeccable, but those comments are seriously worrying. Anyway I thought I’d share the documentary in case anyone is interested in watching.