Antiracist Psychology to Advance Equitable Public Policy

Abstract

The discipline of psychology, with its roots in scientific racism, has been complicit with the enactment of racist policies that have significantly harmed the psychological well-being of many minoritized people in colonial societies. The American Psychological Association (APA) has acknowledged and apologized for this racist history and has committed to an antiracist path for the future to right the wrongs. As a part of Dangerous Opportunities special issue, we examine the antecedents to racism in psychology, the racist behaviors of psychology and the APA during its existence, and the harmful consequences contributed by racist policies supported or endorsed by psychologists. Additionally, we provide a listing of required changes we view as necessary for the discipline of psychology and the APA (as its primary professional organization) to enact to prepare the discipline and the Association for antiracist activities and to capably and responsibly support and advance antiracist policies outside of psychology in the public interests. Transformation of the discipline and its associations, institutions, and programs is necessary for psychology to remain locally and globally relevant in a culturally diverse and interdependent. Antiracist activities are essential for this transformation to occur. Key words: antiracism, colonialism, decolonization, psychology, policy.