The American Psychological Association recently issued a detailed statement owning up to and apologizing for not only for its own role in perpetuating systemic racism in the U.S., but for the role the field of psychology as a whole has also played in systemically denigrating people of color for decades.
“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,” a portion of the statement reads.
“In addition, recognizing that many existing historical records and narratives have been centered in Whiteness, APA also concluded that it was imperative to capture oral history and the lived experiences of communities of color, so commissioned a series of listening sessions and surveys, which also inform this resolution.
