Black Lives Matter

Fall 2023.

Here are some of the activities that we have undertaken since our last update as we try to make the Jaswal Lab, our research, and our community more inclusive:

  • Continue to iterate our RA recruitment process to advertise opportunities widely, to make the hows and whys more transparent, and to reduce barriers in the RA application process that may have disproportionately impacted BIPOC students. For example, we emphasize our commitment to diversity and inclusion in recruitment communications, and we provide applicants with the interview questions in advance. Applicants are also given the opportunity to explain their background and how it has impacted who they are. 
  • Describe Jaswal Lab research about how to better support autistic students at UVa (report to be issued soon!) to classes, organizations, and University offices 
  • Host undergraduate students from other institutions in summer programs, including the Leadership Alliance Summer Research-Early Identification Program
  • Participate in university-wide diversifying scholarship initiatives, including presentations at the Diversifying Scholarship Research Conference and Diversifying Psychology Visit Day
  • Serve on Psychology Department Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committees/subcommittees

To read the Department of Psychology’s statement on Anti-Black Racism, including the actions we take as a department and suggested anti-racism resources, please follow this link.

Summer 2021.

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color continue to lose their lives because of systemic racism and acts of power-based violence. This year, BIPOC people and disabled people have been disproportionately affected by and killed by COVID-19. In the summer of 2020, we committed to educating ourselves about anti-Black racism, white privilege, and ableism, and to take action towards mitigating them in our lab and in the work we conduct.

Here are some of the activities we have committed to and continue to implement as we try to make the Jaswal Lab, our research, and our community more inclusive:

  • Dedicate lab meetings to discussing readings on racism, ableism, and the lived experience of BIPOC autistic people
  • Update our RA recruitment process to make it more transparent
  • Reduce barriers in the RA application process that may have disproportionately impacted BIPOC students
  • Conduct research to understand autistic undergraduates’ experiences of inclusion and exclusion at UVa, supported by a grant from the Directors of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Small Grant Program
  • Participate in programs to mentor underrepresented students, including the UVa Pro-Diversity Student Mentorship Program and the Leadership Alliance Summer Research-Early Identification Program
  • Participate in university-wide diversifying scholarship initiatives, including presentations at the Diversifying Scholarship Research Conference and Diversifying Psychology Visit Day
  • Serve on Psychology Department Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committees/subcommittees

To read the Department of Psychology’s statement on Anti-Black Racism, including the actions we take as a department and suggested anti-racism resources, please follow this link.

Summer 2020.

The Jaswal Lab mourns the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, as well as the countless other Black, Indigenous, People of Color who have lost their lives due to systemic racism and acts of power-based violence. We condemn anti-Black racism, police brutality, and all expressions of white supremacy. Systemic racism affects all of us, and we each have a role to play in addressing it.

The Jaswal Lab aims to conduct research that is informed by and beneficial to autistic people, their families, and the autism community. We cannot accomplish our vision of building a world where autistic people are valued, supported, included, and welcomed without meaningfully interrogating issues of race and white privilege in our research and recruiting, mentoring, and supporting a racially diverse and inclusive research team.

We are committed to educating ourselves about how anti-Black racism and white privilege intersect with our lives and work. In collaboration with individuals and organizations with expertise on addressing systemic racism and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, we are developing a concrete plan to make the Jaswal Lab more inclusive. As we set concrete goals, we will post them on this page.

To read the Department of Psychology’s statement on Anti-Black Racism, including the actions we take as a department and suggested anti-racism resources, please follow this link.