CPA

Taking Action Against Racism
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Black Anti-Racism

TV Special For Kids on CNN

The 60-minute special “Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism. A CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall for Kids and Families” will air on Saturday, June 6, at 10 a.m. ET.

The show will talk to kids about racism, the recent nationwide protests, embracing diversity and being more empathetic and understanding.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/02/us/cnn-sesame-street-standing-up-to-racism/index.html

CPA STATEMENT OCTOBER 2020:

On September 22, 2020 the White House issued an Executive Order restricting diversity training in federal agencies https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-race-sex-stereotyping/ 

The American Psychological Association has issued a statement denouncing this executive order. We agree with the tenets of the statement, which asserts that “these orders are about much more than restricting diversity training; they are aimed at denying the well-documented systemic inequities that exist in America” (https://www.apa.org/news/press/statements/federal-diversity-training).  

The Connecticut Psychological Association stands firmly against this White House Executive Order and remains fully committed to diversity and inclusion across our profession. Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion is at the heart of what is means to be a psychologist and a critical component of our training, continuing education and daily work. As psychologists, we have an ethical responsibility to serve our diverse communities and participate in advocacy against actions that adversely affect our profession and those we serve. For many of us, part of our work and professional identity includes promoting social justice, championing diversity efforts, and working to combat racism and other systemic problems that pervade our society. Furthermore, multicultural sensitivity and competence is a cornerstone of our profession and a necessary component of any accredited psychology training program.  

CPA stands in solidarity with our colleagues working in federal agencies and are very concerned about the challenging circumstances this executive order creates. CPA strongly feels that the executive order serves to create a culture of fear and censorship and limits the very important principle of academic freedom. Trainings on diversity, inclusion, and critical race theory are grounded in science and should continue to be offered broadly to psychologists and psychology trainees. 

CPA works tirelessly on behalf of all psychologists and is committed to helping to address this issue. We are here to support you and to provide advocacy and representation however it may be needed. CPA would like to offer a safe space for our colleagues to provide these trainings, engage in these discussions, and continue to do this important work. We would like to invite any psychologist who has had a talk, seminar or training cancelled or delayed to reach out to us about the possibility of offering your talk through CPA.

Please learn about CPA’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion here (https://connpsych.org/action-against-racism/). We welcome you to join us in this effort. We would also like to invite you to participate in our free Social Justice Seminar Series, an initiative developed to help us continue to learn and grow together to combat racism and the many inequities that persist in our society. 

We encourage our colleagues to stand with us against this executive order and continue to do the important work this order seeks to silence and suppress. We offer the attached resources in case they are helpful. 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-combating-race-sex-stereotyping/?fbclid=IwAR2fnhW7YwcpIziUVEJaftgxTTYApAmtk0xpiu26z8undq8i0mQn-N8uAdM

https://www.chcoc.gov/print/9531

https://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/about/policies/standards-of-accreditation.pdf

https://www.apa.org/ethics/code/ethics-code-2017.pdf

CPA stands as a strong voice against grave injustices demonstrated by recent events. We are clear in our position of solidarity with APA in that the “racism pandemic” is in fact devastating our nation.  Racism is a disease that has permeated us individually and societally. One of CPA’s missions is to promote human welfare and we know from our recent Priorities Survey that CT psychologists care deeply about social justice issues.  We acknowledge the trauma, grief, and outrage many people of color are feeling in light of the recent killings of Black men and women and pledge to take action.  

 

As a community, we can take action in several ways:

Advocate

EDUCATE

Educate ourselves and be willing to re-examine our views and actions to become better allies and address racism.

Articles

Movies & Films to Watch

Organizations to Follow on Social Media

Communicate

Help our youth make sense of current events and educate children of all ages about racism.

For parents and children of color resources to talk about violence

Create

Develop and implement healing spaces for staff, students, and clients of color.

DONATE

Donate to organizations dedicated to racial equality and justice.

Compiled by Sarah Sophie Flicker, Alyssa Klein in May 2020, Basecamp, and with additions made by Connecticut Psychological Association June 2020.

As an association that represents psychologists in Connecticut, we need to be a home for all psychologists in our state.  CPA must increase diversity, equity, and inclusion among our board, membership.  We will do this in the following ways:

  • As CPA unveils our first Early Career Leadership Academy we are actively recruiting individuals from diverse minority backgrounds to build them as leaders for both our workforce and for CPA’s own leadership pipeline. 
  • CPA will build on our Leadership Development Program for Graduates Students of Color and expand the work of our Ethnic Diversity Taskforce.     
  • CPA will offer opportunities for us to learn and grow together as psychologists.  Please join CPA for a first conversation on how we as psychologists and citizens can combat racism, serve as racially just allies and be advocates for change.        

CPA pledges to provide ongoing conversations and resources to champion the mission of racial equality. 

Please reach out to us at connpsych@gmail.com to share your ideas and expertise.  We are stronger when our talented psychology community comes together.