The American Psychological Association Apologizes for Its Past History of Racism

The American Psychological Association issued a lengthy apology for its past actions concerning African Americans and other racial and ethnic groups who were subjected to discrimination and racism.

In its statement issued on October 29, 2021, the APA began by saying “the American Psychological Association failed in its role leading the discipline of psychology, was complicit in contributing to systemic inequities, and hurt many through racism, racial discrimination, and denigration of people of color, thereby falling short on its mission to benefit society and improve lives. APA is profoundly sorry, accepts responsibility for, and owns the actions and inactions of APA itself, the discipline of psychology, and individual psychologists who stood as leaders for the organization and field.”

It went on to say the apology should have been issued long ago.

“The early history of psychology,” the resolution stated, “rooted in oppressive psychological science to protect Whiteness, White people, and White epistemologies, reflected the social and political landscape of the U.S. at that time. Psychology developed under these conditions, helped to create, express, and sustain them, continues to bear their indelible imprint, and often continues to publish research that conforms with White racial hierarchy.”

The APA also issued a resolution detailing the steps it would take to help correct the injustices of the past.

Readers may also find interesting the APA’s historical chronology of psychology’s contributions to the belief in racial hierarchy and perpetuation of inequality for people of color in United States.

Related Articles

1 COMMENT

  1. Mostly unintelligible pablum served up with a side of nearly every race-baiting meme out there. Example:

    “THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that APA affirms that the body of psychological science must be comprised of rigorous research conducted across the epistemological continuum, to include not only those positivist and postpositivist paradigms that most closely align with Whiteness, but also constructivist, critical-ideological, and other critical paradigms; that no one methodological approach is “better,” but rather, each may be conducted with or without appropriate scientific rigor and with or without appropriate applicability to the research question(s). High-quality psychological science includes quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and participatory approaches conducted in accordance with the standards of rigor unique to each approach, and conclusions informed by the totality of the high-quality psychological science that spans these methods are more likely to be racially just;…”

Leave a Reply

Get the JBHE Weekly Bulletin

Receive our weekly email newsletter delivered to your inbox

Latest News

California State University Sacramento Launches Black Honors College

Officially launching for the fall 2024 semester, the Black Honors College will support students from all backgrounds who study Black history, life, and culture by providing them with a specialized curriculum and mentoring opportunities.

Higher Education Gifts or Grants of Interest to African Americans

Here is this week’s news of grants or gifts to historically Black colleges and universities or for programs of particular interest to African Americans in higher education.

In Memoriam: Norman B. Anderson, 1955-2024

Dr. Anderson was the assistant vice president for research and academic affairs at Florida State University at the time of his death. He had an extensive career in clinical psychology, which led him to become the first African American chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association.

Georgia State University Launches Program to Support Black Women in Tech

While Black women account for roughly 29 percent of the Georgia State University undergradaute student body, they represent only 10 percent of the university's computer science majors and 18 percent of the computer information systems majors.

Featured Jobs