Dr. Tiara Moore has created a community for Black marine scientists.
She was born in Philadelphia, PA, and at 18 months, she and her grandmother moved to South Carolina after her mother was sent to spend time behind bars.
“She moved us to get us basically out of harm’s way,” Dr. Moore explained to AFROTECH™.
Dr. Moore grew up with her grandmother’s children in a modest household. She spent some of her days reading various books, nurturing her interest in education. She also credits “The Cosby Show” with inspiring her to become a doctor.
Interest In Marine Biology And Environmental Science
Dr. Moore attended Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC, on a full-ride scholarship and majored in biology with the goal of becoming a pre-med student. However, the reality of being a doctor working in a standard practice settled in, and she decided to pivot to marine and environmental science.
“I realized, probably not even a year or two in, that I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t really like the sad part of working with kids and them being sick, and they have to die. It got real quick,” Dr. Moore recalled. “So it was like, ‘What do I do?’ I’m in college. I can’t let my family down. I told everybody, I’m gonna be this doctor and start. So, I started exploring other facets of biology. And that’s how I found marine and environmental science.”
A spring break school trip to Costa Rica sealed Dr. Moore’s interest in marine and environmental science. There, the students collected water samples and conducted experiments alongside senior scientists.
“I was like, ‘Wait, are y’all getting paid for this? What is this job? I want to do this job.’ And that was life-changing for me,” she said. “I came back from that experience undergrad, and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.”
After completing her bachelor of science in biology, Dr. Moore wanted to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) with marine or environmental science programs. She attended Hampton University, where she conducted her own research in the Chesapeake Bay.
Her time at the school gave her mixed feelings. She said the school employed largely white professors, and she did not always feel that her presence was valued there.
“My master’s advisor is a white man, Dr. Benjamin. So, it was this weird space of where, like, ‘Okay, I was at an HBCU, but the people that I was being taught by were white… but Benjamin did make me feel and included me enough that I was like, ‘Okay, I can do this now.'” Dr. Moore told AFROTECH™. “At that time, it was a safe enough space for me to feel like, ‘I can go and get my Ph.D. I can go and do this.’ And I think as you move up in this field, even with the diversity scholarships that I had, it was almost as if they didn’t want me there… That was really mind-boggling. It really, really confused me, caused me to go into depression, and caused me to have really hard times.”
After she earned a master’s degree in biology with a concentration in environmental science, she went to the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her Ph.D. in biology.
Black in Marine Science (BIMS)
That feeling of isolation and depression motivated Dr. Moore to create a safe space for other Black individuals within the field. In 2020, she launched the nonprofit Black in Marine Science (BIMS) following an incident involving Christian Cooper, a birdwatcher in Central Park in New York City, NY. Cooper was falsely reported to the police by a white woman after he asked her to leash her dog.
“The beauty of that experience was the response of Black birders, which I honestly was surprised to see. On Twitter, all these Black birders just started posting pictures… Then, there was an outcry of these Black in STEM movements. I saw Black in chemistry. Black in astronomy. Black in physics. Black in geoscience… I literally tweeted, ‘Wait, where’s Black in Marine Science Week? We’re here, too. We gotta have something.'”
Today, BIMS has its own community and a presence in areas like South Africa, Belize, and the Bahamas.
In April 2023, Dr. Moore left her job to focus on BIMS full-time, she told AFROTECH™. Today, her team has grown to seven staff members who are aligned with the mission to empower Black marine scientists and promote environmental awareness, as mentioned on the nonprofit’s website.
“We really wanted to harness the power of just the Black marine scientists, but also the community,” Dr. Moore explained.
BIMS Programs
BIMS offers several programs available for a $120 annual membership or $12 monthly membership, among other membership tiers. Programs include Tidal Wave, a scientific conference travel program; BIMS TV, a YouTube channel that makes ocean science information readily available; and BIMS Swims, a swimming program that includes ocean literacy.
“There are a lot of folks who don’t know how to swim. So, instead of just making that a negative and keeping that against us, why not just teach us? So, that’s the program where we teach folks how to swim. It’s open to our members, and that means we cover all of the expenses,” Dr. Moore said.
Another offering is the BIMS Immersion Program. For a week, members experience hands-on learning, conservation activities like coral restoration or shark tagging, research opportunities, and a chance to obtain a scuba diving certification. The nonprofit recently hosted the program in Miami, FL.
“We have a whole week of being together. We bring in Black scuba instructors. We bring in Black scientists, and you get your actual scuba certification… Get folks involved with our ongoing research projects on biodiversity. So we really try to make it immersive so people can see, ‘Oh, I have this skill. This is how I can use it in science,'” Dr. Moore expressed. “Because scuba diving is a huge skill to have for marine scientists, but it’s very expensive. You take a course online first, that’s about $500. Then, you have to do four open-water scuba dives. So that’s actually going out, getting the boat, and getting a dive shop, and that right there can be about $1,000. We take on all of those expenses for our members.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Moore hopes to integrate the BIMS Institute, which will serve as a research, innovation, and technology hub.
“Now that I have all of these amazing marine scientists that are doing epic work, how can we harness this to really change these and solve climate change, sea level rise, nutrient pollution issues that we’re seeing that’s impacting our communities, Black communities,” she told AFROTECH™. “Imagine a whole lab dedicated to that, or recreating tools using AI, using the latest technology. That’s what gets me so excited.”
