By Zara Abrams, American Psychological Association, September 1, 2020
Police brutality may be what sparked a wave of protests across the United States and beyond, but the “racism pandemic”—a term used by APA President Sandra Shullman, PhD, for the ongoing harm caused by racism—runs far deeper. Today’s inequities, psychologists say, are deeply rooted in our past, and the status quo is no longer acceptable. “Every institution in America is born from the blood of white supremacist ideology and capitalism—and that’s the disease,” says Theopia Jackson, PhD, president of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi).
Across the country, there’s talk about what it would take to achieve true systemic change. Psychological research, treatment and leadership can and should be a key part of the solution. But that requires taking a hard look at how the field has overlooked—and even perpetuated—racial injustice in the past, psychologists say.
APA is addressing the issue on three levels: by broadly communicating psychological science on bias and racism, including through media interviews, blogs and podcasts; by developing actionable recommendations through an APA Presidential Task Force related to racial disparities in policing and police-citizen encounters, particularly related to the Black community; and by working to dismantle institutional racism over the long term, including within APA and the field of psychology.
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