It is well established that retaining PEERs in science is integral to addressing socioeconomic inequalities in the United States, ensuring that we include the best and brightest minds in the workforce, and minimizing the influence of bias in scientific research (Intemann, 2009). The term PEERs stands for “people excluded because of their ethnicity or race” and in the U.S. includes people who identify as Black or African American, Latinx or Hispanic, and people indigenous to the spaces comprising the United States and its territories (Asai, 2020).

People of color are underrepresented in many STEM fields, and this underrepresentation is especially prevalent for Black individuals in evolutionary biology. Although there are many potential reasons why, a new study focuses on a factor that is often missing from these discussions: religious beliefs. It has been well established that Black individuals are more likely to be Christian compared to white individuals. Previous studies have also reported that Black individuals are less likely to accept evolution.

The Black Lives Matter movement and protests in Summer 2020 after the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and Tony McDade, have prompted many educators and researchers to reflect upon racism in the spaces we occupy. As copies of “How to be an anti-racist” by Ibram X.

The opportunity to attend a university online is an attractive option for many students because of the flexibility in scheduling, the lack of commuting, and the ability to work from wherever. This is a particularly enticing option for individuals working full-time in any capacity such as a 9-5 office job or for taking care of children or other family members. So, as universities begin to develop more of these programs, these online programs open access to college degrees for a larger slice of society.