PSYCH DISCOURSE:

NEWSJOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF BLACK PSYCHOLOGISTS

SEPTEMBER, 2000, VOLUME 31 #9

(Mis)Assessment

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EDITORIAL

HIV/AIDS: A Call to Action

 By Halford H. Fairchild, 3

 FEATURE ARTICLE

 By Doris Eason Shafombabi, 5

Icons of Ghana, 12

By Halford Fairchild

ANNOUNCEMENTS, 13

Student Circle Contact Information, 13

Call for Papers,13

Grant Writers Wanted!13

Letters (by Pamela Wrenn), 13

$100,000 Prizes,14

E-Mail Directory,14

Notice to Contributors,14

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING, 15

Job Opportunities and Internships, 15

Products and Services,21

2000 Convention Video Order Form

Life Members

2000-2001 Board of Directors

Credits

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EDITORIAL

HIV/AIDS:A Call to Action

BY Halford H. Fairchild, Ph.D.

Editor, Psych Discourse

At the summer 2000 international meeting on HIV/AIDS, held in South Africa, it was reported that 30,000,000 people in Africa are HIV positive.If they lived in America or Europe, they could live full and productive lives.But because they live in Africa, their life expectancy is best counted in months or a few years.

The deaths in Africa are wreaking havoc.In addition to the psychological trauma that survivors face at the loss of a loved one, families and communities are left without the economic and social benefits of an adult who contributes to the family and community.Children are orphaned and students are finding themselves without teachers as they, too, are dying in appalling numbers.

There is perhaps no cause more important than this:to halt the genocidal effects of HIV/AIDS in Africa, Africa America, and throughout the African Diaspora.

The malicious indifference of the West—the U.S. and Europe—should be identified for what it is:a crime.The exorbitant prices for life saving medicines means that the majority of HIV positive individuals in Africa will die slow and painful deaths.

According to at least one analysis, the proliferation of HIV/AIDS in Africa was the result of U.S. and European polio vaccinations that took place in the 1950s.Maps of the places of vaccinations, and maps of the concentrated areas of HIV infection, are remarkably similar (Hooper, 1999).If true, then another crime against humanity has been, and continues to be, committed.The perpetrators must be brought to justice, but we must intervene to save lives.

Reference

Hooper, Edward. (1999).The river: A journey to the source of HIV and AIDS. Boston: Little Brown and Company.

Halford H. Fairchild is a Professor of Psychology and Black Studies at Pitzer College and serves as Editor of Psych Discourse. He may be reached at PsychDiscourse@AOL.COM. 

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T h e  A s s o c i a t i o n  o f  B l a c k  P s y c h o l o g i s t s

(2000-2001 Membership Year Began on August 1, 2000)

Organizational History and Objectives

The Association of Black Psychologists was founded in San Francisco in 1968 when a number of Black psychologists from across the country united to actively address the serious problems facing Black psychologists and the larger Black community.

Guided by the principle of self-determination, these Black psychologists set about building an institution through which they could address the long neglected needs of Black professionals and begin to positively impact upon the mental health of the national Black community by means of planning, programs, services, training and advocacy to:

1.Organize their skills and abilities to influence and affect necessary change.

2.Address themselves to significant social problems affecting the Black community in particular, as well as other segments of population whose needs society has not fulfilled.

The Association of Black Psychologists has grown from a handful of concerned professionals into an independent autonomous organization of over 1000 members who are in the forefront in addressing issues of a psychological nature which have adverse effects in our communities.

THE ABPsi's ORGANIZATIONAL GOALS

1.To enhance the psychological well-being of Black people in America and throughout the world.

2.To promote constructive understanding of Black people through positive approaches to research.

3.To develop an approach to psychology that is consistent with the experience of Black people.

4.To define mental health in consonance with newly established psychological concepts and standards regarding Black people.

5.To develop internal support systems for Black psychologists and students of psychology.

6.To develop policies for local, state and national decision-making which impact on the mental health of the Black community.

7.To promote values and a life style that supports our survival and well-being as a race.

8.To support established Black organizations and aid in the development of new independent Black institutions to enhance our psychological, educational, cultural, and economic situations.

M E M B E R S H I P

Membership in The Association of Black Psychologists is open to all persons, professional and students, who are interested in promoting the goals and objectives of the organization and meet the criteria defined by the Board of Directors as set forth in the organizational By-Laws.

Membership Benefits. Membership benefits include The Journal of Black Psychology; Psych Discourse: The Newsjournal of The ABPsi (published monthly); discounts for publications and Conventions; voting privileges; national and international networking opportunities; referral/consultant opportunities; listing in national Expert Directory; publication opportunities; and opportunities to promote social change and mental health.

W R I T E  U S  T O D A Y !

MEMBERSHIP SERVICES, THE ABPSI, P.O. BOX 55999, WASHINGTON, D.C.20040-5999.Our membership year runs from August 1 to July 31, so new and renewal memberships are due now! Send a SASE to speed a response!

Feature Article

False Positives in Assessment and Placement of Minorities:The New Frontiers

By

Doris Eason Shafombabi, Ph.D.

Delaware Valley Association of Black Psychologists

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Because the early intervention programs use small teacher to pupil ratios they often advise and coach parents to push for testing towards “exceptional designation” that will provide smaller special education placements. This misguided enthusiasm causes parents to request special education placements instead of emphasizing the child’s strengths and requiring that the school make accommodations in a regular education class.”

In medicine and pure scientific experimentation, a false positive describes the phenomenon of incorrectly including a subject as a member of the “eligible” or “significant” group when that subject should have been rejected. Under these circumstances people have taken toxic drug treatments when they did not need to receive them and others have had invasive surgeries that were risky and altogether unnecessary. Whereas medical professionals don’t like to publish it, some people have even died because of false positive results and resulting errors in treatment. This paper deals with the “false positives” in psychological and educational assessment that kill and maim in a different way. These errors in assessment kill the spirit of the child, kill the dreams and plans the family has for their child, and cripples the child for the rest of his or her school career and sometimes well beyond.

Lessons from History

Over twenty years ago, ABPsi members Harold Dent, Asa G. Hilliard, III, and Gerald West took up the fight against inappropriate testing and placement of minority students in Educable Mentally Retarded Classes (EMR) in the San Francisco School District. All served as expert witnesses for the plaintiffs in Larry P. v. Wilson Riles. After the judgment in the Larry P. case, and Dianav. California State Board of Education., minority parents (in that part of the US) were given some relief from the false labeling of their children as EMR. So the issue of examining children in their own mother tongue had been settled, and the “two standard deviations below the mean” test score ruling had been adopted.

Prior to 1973, federal laws had been written that offered protection to minority children who were grossly over represented in special education classes of all types. In that year, The Rehabilitation Act was passed and Section 504 offered some protection by requiring that reasonable accommodations be made to include persons with handicaps in the regular work or school environments. By 1975 Public Law 94-142 had been passed requiring multidisciplinary evaluations before children were considered exceptional, the use of translators, and “mainstreaming” in areas where the child could be included with nonexceptional peers. The reissue of P. L. 94-142 as IDEA(1997), mandated inclusion and placed the burden of proof on the school to show why exceptional children cannot be taught in regular classes with accommodations for instruction and testing. 

As we enter the 21st century , the progressive forces, (those which reduce false positives in placement) have been strengthened and the hindering forces (those which work to maintain false positives) have weakened to some extent. One significant progressive force is the fact that parents no longer have blind trust in what educators and psychologists present to them. They are now more likely to challenge results and get second opinions from non-biased sources. A number of educational advocacy groups have formed and there are more lawyers specializing in educational law.

The New Frontiers in False Positives

The “High Stakes Testing” movement in this country, along with the national movement for Educational Standards, has created a climate that encourages false positives in special education placement. Specifically, teachers and schools must bring every student up to some stipulated level of proficiency in reading literacy and math or suffer penalties from the local school governing body or takeover by the state. In a recent Psych Discourse article, it was mentioned that statewide literacy tests in Virginia require each public school to obtain a 70% proficiency rate over 6 years or face loss of certification (Young, 1999).In Pennsylvania, some of the school districts, including Philadelphia, are using the Stanford Achievement Test 9th ed., (SAT-9) to help determine a performance Index for each school. Schools with consistently low performance indexes face reassignment of staff and other sanctions.

The pressure on individual teachers to “raise the bar” and produce the desired test scores encourages wholesale referrals of children to the Multidisciplinary Teams as “thought to be exceptional.” The desired outcome, of course, is that these children are labeled, removed to special education classes and given special accommodations for testing. In fairness to regular education teachers, many have large classes and little service from teaching aides. However, when they pursue the practice of “purging” their classrooms of students who may bring the class and school average down, they become partly responsible for creating false positives and setting those students on a course in life which often excludes them from academically oriented college bound courses. The resistance of teachers to employ different strategies and make accommodation for different learning styles is what I call the “Regular Education Backlash.” Errors in selection and placement come not only from the high stakes testing issue, but also from ignorance about basic child development. 

In the last 5 years or so, there has been renewed interest in Early Intervention to counteract the impact of developmental delays. Specialized preschool programs were designed to “close the gaps’ and help children develop compensations for developmental and congenital problems. However, the staff of these programs are not always well trained in the variability of development. Thus some of the teachers are labeling children who don’t reach certain educational benchmarks as “exceptional.” Because the early intervention programs use small teacher to pupil ratios they often advise and coach parents to push for testing towards “exceptional designation” that will provide smaller special education placements. This misguided enthusiasm causes parents to request special education placements instead of emphasizing the child’s strengths and requiring that the school make accommodations in a regular education class. The false positive placements generated in this way I call “ Early Intervention Casualties.”

Our Collective Responsibility as Black Psychologists

As licensed and certified psychologists we have the responsibility to join in the fight to eliminate false positives in assessment and placement through our educational efforts and personal practices. The following are suggestions for any psychologist working with school-aged populations. We have the responsibility: 

1. To educate ourselves in all educational laws affecting selection and placement of children, both at Federal and State levels. 

2. To educate parents regarding developmental differences and variability in movement through the stages of child development. 

3. To advocate for parents seeking second opinions to findings of exceptionality. To write data based dissenting opinions in cases where false positive decisions are pending. 

4. As members of multidisciplinary teams (MDT) to insist on inclusion in regular education even when the team consensus is for learning disability or mental retardation. 

5. To provide extensive reevaluation and follow up of Black children previously assigned to special education, and move to decertify them where the placement is not warranted. 

6. To utilize alternative and dynamic assessment in order to obtain more realistic measures on ability and performance. (See. A. Hilliard 1995, and the Symposium on IQ testing at City College of San Francisco, 1998, for more details.) 

References

Available from the author. 

This is an excerpt from a Paper Presentation by Dr. Shafombabi at the Pennsylvania Psychological Association 2000 Convention, Harrisburg, PA, June 15, 2000.Dr. Shafombabi may be reached at dshafombabi@phila.k12.pa.us.

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Still in Chains: 

A Rites of Passage Program in a U.S. Prison

By

Randolph Potts, Ph.D.

Holy Cross College

________________________________________________________________________

This summer many of us participated in a Ritual of Return in the prison dungeons at Elmina and Cape Coast in Ghana. As we continue to reflect upon the passage of our chained and shackled ancestors through the “Door of No Return,” we are painfully aware that many of our brothers and sisters of Africa in the United States are still chained and shackled. The number of incarcerated adults of African origin in the United States has now hit the million mark (Boston Globe, 02/28/99). This represents nearly an eight-fold increase over the past three decades. Estimates are that one in four Black men are incarcerated or have been involved with the criminal justice system, one in three between the ages of 20-29. And Black women are the fastest growing group of prisoners in the U.S. This article will first comment briefly on the political and economic significance of this continuing expression of the MAAFA¹, then describe a rites of passage program that we have begun in a prison in the Northeastern U.S.

Slave Labor Continues

Contrary to what many may believe, slavery was not outlawed or abolished in the United States by the passage of the 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment reads: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." The 13th Amendment was not to abolish slavery, but to specify more clearly the circumstances under which slavery could continue. Thus, a large number of Africans have found themselves "duly convicted" and once again engaged in slave labor. In 1986, former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger called for transforming prisons into "factories with fences." More accurately, what we now have are plantations with razor wire generating profits for many international corporations. 

• The Department of Corrections (DOC) in California is marketing a line of clothes in Asia, competing against the sweatshops of Indonesia, Hong Kong, Thailand, and China. The prisoners making these clothes are paid between 35 cents and one dollar an hour. The "Prison Blues" brand of clothes (sold by Nordstroms) is made by prisoners in the Oregon DOC, and has projected export revenues of more than $1.2 million (Davis, 1998; Rojas, 1998). 

• Chevron, TWA, and Victoria’s Secret have used prison labor to do data entry, book telephone reservations, and make lingerie at 23 cents an hour. Other companies using prison labor are Eddie Baur, Lee Jeans, Mecca, IBM, Motorola, Compaq, Texas Instruments, Microsoft and Boeing (Davis, 1998; Rojas, 1998). 

• Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana still have unpaid prisoners laboring in fields. 

• The U.S. Justice Department-run corporation, Federal Prison Industries (UNICOR), has inmates producing products that include clothing, furniture, electronics, file cabinets, brooms, brushes, military helmets, mattresses, circuit boards and draperies. UNICOR posted $37.3 million in gross profits last year and employs 20,000 inmates at 95 prisons (Kelly, 1998; Rojas, 1998). 

It is important to view the prison industrial complex in social and historical context. While exporting prison-made products to Asia, the U.S. has condemned China for exporting prison-made goods, considering this practice a violation of human rights. At the Nuremberg trials, Alfred Krupp was condemned and convicted for one of the most hated crimes perpetrated by the Nazis -- the use of concentration camp prisoners as slave laborers in the German plants and mines. As imprisoned journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal points out: 

In a nation where the prevailing ideology is the attainment and dominance of capital, the entry of the unbridled forces of the corporation into the prison is deeply disturbing. For what can be the future of incarceration, when the underlying motive is profit? Under a regime where more bodies equal more profits, prisons take one big step closer to their historical ancestor, the slave pen (Abu-Jamal, 1999). 

“The 13th Amendment was not to abolish slavery, but to specify more clearly the circumstances under which slavery could continue. Thus, a large number of Africans have found themselves "duly convicted" and once again engaged in slave labor. In 1986, former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger called for transforming prisons into "factories with fences." More accurately, what we now have are plantations with razor wire generating profits for many international corporations.”

The mass incarceration of African people in the U.S. means more than the continued exploitation of labor. It contributes substantially to other problems reminiscent of the era of chattel slavery such as disenfranchisement, illiteracy, family fragmentation, and hopelessness. In nine states, one in four Black men can never vote again because they were convicted of a felony. Many inmates are functionally illiterate and are not able to fill out a job application. And Georgia has recently made it illegal for those incarcerated to obtain their GED.

An era of MAAFA emerged with colonization and the massive enslavement of Africans. The slaveocracy was the basis for the expansive prosperity of the European and U.S. elite. The MAAFA, disaster, the structures of domination, the multifaceted systems of dehumanization are still in effect and fueling the prosperity of the international capitalist elite. How can we as a community of healers begin to address the persisting bondage of Africans in a coordinated way? There are many levels of this problem for us to address - e.g. the social policy, institutional, community resource, family, cultural and spiritual dimensions. Of what value is a rites of passage program in countering this continuing expression of the MAAFA?

Why a Rites of Passage Program in a U.S. Prison?

In African societies, rites of passage have prepared initiates for the transition through significant stages of the life cycle. In the U.S., rites of passage programs for adolescents have become valued institutions in many Black communities - guiding the life transition from childhood to adulthood. But many of our brothers and sisters are being incarcerated in their teens. The prison has become a setting for adult socialization, for learning how to live and relate in the world. The prison experience has become part of their rites of passage, their initiation to adulthood. Another major life transition for the those who are incarcerated is reintegration into the life of the community. The values and norms assimilated behind bars often accompany those who return to the community. Most of those who are released are arrested again. Rites of passage are needed to shepherd this transition too. For those looking toward passage back into the community, there is an urgent need for critical self-reflection, atonement, and spiritual realignment. We need the incarcerated members of our community to return home from “correctional” institutions, but we need them to come home “correct.” They need to be released not only from physical captivity, but spiritual captivity as well.

No systematic effort is made by departments of “correction” to bring about such a beneficial transformation in those who are incarcerated. There is a plethora of models for behavioral change within Western psychology that are seldom (if ever) incorporated in programs to change the lives of the incarcerated. But the long term value of such models is also questionable. Behavior modification strategies, decision-making skills training, “life skills” training, anger management training, “transtheoretical” models, and other psycho-educational approaches can be useful, but tend to be “deficit” focused, ahistorical, spiritually barren, devoid of African processes of healing, uninformed by African wisdom teachings which speak to the very problems being addressed, and dehumanizing in their denial of the participant’s role as an agent of social change.

Through rites of passage, however, the initiate develops new behaviors but these flow from a transformation or awakening deep within. “It is important to realize that in initiation we are not simply changing behavior, but developing our spiritual faculties and powers as well” (Amen, 1994, p. 221). According to the Kemetic initiation system “...morality can not be imparted by giving instruction, i.e., providing information on moral behavior. There is a faculty within Man (Maat) that when awakened, automatically moralizes the individual” (Amen, 1994, p. 180). Rites of passage is a process of (re)awakening the initiate’s spiritual faculties, sense of purpose, and historical memory. Awakening Maat and the dormant faculties of the spirit are healing processes that require ritual. “Ritual provides not only healing but also the recovery of memory and the reaffirmation of each individual’s life purpose” (Somé, 1998, p. 32).

The Rites of Passage Program

The two main components of this rites of passage program are: 1) The rites of passage component for incarcerated initiates within the prison, and 2) The post-incarceration support component for those who have been released from prison. Those completing the component within the prison go on to participate in the post-incarceration component upon release from prison. The post-incarceration component, based in churches in the community, provides “welcoming back” experiences and a network of support. The focus in this article is on the program within the prison.

The rites of passage program within the prison consists of eight sections related to four general topics: 1) reclaiming historical memory,2) spiritual (re)awakening, 3) reclaiming our values and principles, and4) initiation and reintegration. The program lasts for approximately twelve weeks, with weekly meetings of the rites of passage group for two and a half hours each week. Group participation involves readings, various assignments, discussions, journaling, and a variety of group experiences. Topics and section activities are outlined below.

A. Sankofa: Reclaiming historical memory 

The first sections of the program situate the initiate’s life story and family history within the larger framework of African history. 

Section 1.Based on a Dagara naming ritual, each initiate presents a statement of his life purpose. Each initiate is then given the assignment of researching his family history and constructing a family genogram. Each is called upon to locate himself within the history and traditions of a family, expanding the initiate’s sense of self to “who we are” as a family, and then to “who we are” as a people. 

Section 2. “Bringing to the Table.” Each initiate is called upon to locate himself and his family within African history. Each symbolically “brings to the table” with him the most significant person(s) in his family history and in African history, telling us who they are, why they mean so much to him, and what he would like to say to them about his life and future role. 

B. Finding “Self” in spiritual and religious context 

The focus is on spiritual (re)awakening and cultivating the initiate’s relationship with the sacred, the divine within. The initiate is challenged to critically examine and bring his life into accord with his spiritual and religious values.

Section 3.Each initiate discusses spiritual and religious beliefs and practices that have been important for his family, his ancestors, and in his own life. Each initiate may present a prayer, meditation, or reading to the group. Guided exercises and instruction in meditation are provided. Assignments: 

1. Spend at least one hour each day in meditation. Pray at least three times a day.

2. Connect with a spiritual guide of your choice (minister, Imam, priest, babalawo, etc.) 

Section 4.Conversation with a Black Theologian, Womanist Theologian, and scholar on African religions. (Dr. Dianne Stewart, professor of theology and student of James Cone.) 

C. Sankofa: Going Back to Reclaim African Values and Principles

In these sections we compare African values and principles with those that have guided our lives. 

Section 5.Each initiate is called upon to identify the values and principles that guide his life, and to identify their sources. What values led to incarceration? Discussion of African value systems (e.g. Nguzo Saba, Ntu principles, MAAT principles, and MAAT virtues). 

Section 6.Countering the MAAFA: Critical Consciousness as Social Actors

The focus is on critical consciousness development, understanding the political, economic, and institutional forces that influence the crisis we face. Each initiate will examine his role as a social actor and agent of change in his family, community, and in our history. 

D. Initiation and Reintegration

The next sections focus on establishing new roles in the family and community, and preparing for the initiation ritual. 

Section 7.The focus is on how we will live out our values, principles, and life purpose each day. Each initiate describes what he has begun doing and in the way of: atonement; making amends; sacrificing; fasting; forgiving; mentoring; parenting; making contacts with churches, masjids, etc., for post-incarceration involvement. 

Section 8. Preparation for Initiation Ritual: The power of ritual. This section is dedicated to preparation for the six hour initiation ritual to take place the following Saturday morning. There is a discussion of the power of ritual and the elements of ritual in Somé’s The Healing Wisdom of Africa, and a review of the preceding sections of the rites of passage program. Preparation for ritual includes fasting for the 24 hours prior to the initiation ritual, prayer, meditation, and developing ideas for constructing our shrines/altars.

“The appeal to ancestors through ritual is based on an understanding that catastrophe happens when you fail to seek their guidance.” (Somé, 1988, p. 150) 

The rites of passage program begins by asking the initiate to reflect upon his life purpose, to locate himself in the history of a family, and to locate himself in African history. Dr. Asa Hilliard has often emphasized that healing and transformation require us to “begin at the beginning” and reclaim the wisdom of our ancestors (Hilliard, 1998). A study of African wisdom teachings not only helps deconstruct demonized misrepresentations of Africans, but reveals that many solutions to our problems have been provided before these problems have been manifested (e.g. Ptahotep’s writings on how to avoid and resolve the problem of violence). Reclaiming historical memory not only places the initiate’s story of bondage in historical context, as part of the MAAFA, but places his story of perpetration of violence against others in historical context, as participation in the MAAFA.

The first three sections of this rites of passage program correspond with the first level of Kemetic initiation, the level designed to return the individual’s identity away from “the person” (the lower part of being) to “the Self” (the higher part of being, the divine within) (Amen, 1990). From section three on, initiates are called upon to participate in daily meditation and prayer. The first level of Kemetic initiation also involves the experience of remorse for identification with the lower part of being which has led to participation in harming others. Section seven in this rites of passage program calls for the initiate to demonstrate this remorse through atonement and making amends.

Sections five and six of this rites of passage program, addressing values and principles, contain elements of the sixth stage of Kemetic initiation (the MAAT stage). The task of the initiate is not just to understand but live these values and principles each day. This program emphasizes that it is not just the actions and values of the initiate that are in need of transformation, but institutional racism, systematic dehumanization - the MAAFA - of which the prison industrial complex is a major part. This rites of passage program aims to cultivate social actors who are spiritually awake and consciously historical. 

The Dagara people understand that the spirit that animates each one of us in our life can be reborn, and the purpose of this reincarnation is to try once again to fix this world....We do not come to this world on vacation. We come here for service, and we have to remember what that service is. The nature of our service -- our purpose -- was configured already in the Spirit World before we came here (Somé, 1998, p. 312).

This very brief sketch of the prison industrial complex and our rites of passage program in a prison in the Northeastern U.S. is offered to stimulate further ideas and collective action in addressing this continued expression of the MAAFA. Many of our ancestors embarked from African shores in chains and shackles. One million of us are still in chains and shackles in U.S. prisons. The number is growing rapidly and our bondage continues to be the source of enormous profit. We all need a “ritual of return”, an experience of awakening, revitalization, healing, and coming home. 

References

Abu-Jamal, M. (1999). Privatizing pain. Corporate Watch, August 26, 1999. http://www.corpwatch.org/ trac/feature/prisons/mumia.html 

Amen, R.U.N. (1990). Metu Neter. Volume 1. The great oracle of Tehuti and the Egyptian system of spiritual cultivation. Brooklyn, NY: Khamit Corp. 

Amen, R.U.N. (1994). Metu Neter. Volume 2. Anuk Ausar: The Kamitic initiation system. Brooklyn, NY: Khamit Corp. 

Burton-Rose, D., Pens, D., & Wright, P. (1998). The celling of America: An inside look at the U.S. prison industry. Monroe, ME: Common Courage Press. 

Davis, A.Y. (1998). Masked racism: Reflections on the prison industrial complex. ColorLines, Vol.1 No. 2.

Hilliard, A. G. (1998). SBA: The reawakening of the African mind. Gainesville, FL: Makare Publishing 

Kelly, S. (1998). Nothing to lose but their chains: Prison (and) labor. ColorLines, Vol.1 No. 2.

Rojas, P.M. (1998). Complex facts. ColorLines, Vol.1 No. 2.

Somé, M.P. (1998). The Healing Wisdom of Africa. New York: Penguin Putnam. 

Randolph Potts may be reached at potts@MAIL. HARTFORD.EDU

¹The MAAFA is the unprecedented exploitation, murder and enslavement (both physical and psychological) of African people for the past 400 years. - Editor 

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Continuing Struggles in Black Studies

BY Halford H. Fairchild, Ph.D. and Dipannita Basu, Ph.D.

Pitzer College

________________________________________________________________________

Black Studies--the formal discipline that examines the lives, histories and cultures of African people in a global context--was born in struggle. It was the merger of the Free Speech and Civil Rights Movements of the 1960s in what Houston Baker described as “the metonym” for social chaos: America’s colleges and universities (Baker, 1997, p. 34).

The spirit of freedom and liberation, smoldering for 400 years within the souls of Black folks, erupted literally and figuratively in the urban and intellectual fires of 1965.Black students and White students and Asian students and Latino students didn’t ask for physical and intellectual representation at American colleges and universities, they demanded it. It was a time of not-taking-no-for-an-answer as students took up the gun, Marxism and a revolutionary pan-Africanism to create the discipline that is today resolving into a coherent challenge to the business-as-usual ethnocentric indifference of predominantly White academies of (mis)education.

The incorporation of Black Studies, at White and Black colleges and universities alike, was an in-your-face confrontation to the intellectual hegemony of White cultural studies (i.e., history, philosophy, political science, economics, sociology, psychology, literature, etc.).As such, the opposition to Black Studies, as with the opposition to Black people, has been relentless. It has been what Baker referred to as a “space of territorial conflict” within the academy (Baker, 1997, p. 36).

Because Black Studies, now evolving into “Africana Studies” (see Hine, 1997), exists within an institutionalized framework of White supremacy (Swindell, 1997), the luta comes from deeply embedded structures that isolate, fragment and underfund the programs and departments that are seeking higher education’s true mission:the illumination of the Truth about human affairs. In this, Black Studies serves the intellectual needs of Blacks, certainly, but it serves an even more vital function in re-orienting Whites to the lies, myths and distortions of their own cultural past that have masqueraded as objective academic discourse (see Fairchild, 1995).

The contemporary challenges of Black Studies are many, from the settling on a name for the discipline (Hine, 1997; Kelly, 1997), the settling of internal disputes (Swindell, 1997), the overcoming of ghettoization and marginalization (Hine, 1997), the development of a coherent curriculum with graduate programs (see Basu & Fairchild, in preparation; Hine, 1997), and responding to the “…right-wing, racist onslaught…” now confronting the field (Kelly, 1997, p. 179).But more than these struggles within the academy, the most serious current challenge for Black Studies is to redress the inequities that exist between Blacks and Whites in contemporary world political economies (Chideya, 1995).These inequities have life-and-death consequences due to the doubling of the rates of infant mortality, a multiplicative disproportion of HIV/AIDS among Africans throughout the Diaspora, and an average of 6 years less life expectancy for African American men and women in comparison to White Americans (Chideya, 1995).

We must turn, Sankofa style, to the past to reclaim our heritage, our lineage, our sense of where we are in the present (and how we got here), in order to chart a path to the future liberation of Black people around the world (also see Kelly, 1997, in this connection).

Black studies is important as a prescription to dismantle structured racial inequality.It shatters the popular myths about the African past and present.Its birth in struggle demonstrates that the past truly is prologue:the luta, the struggle, of Black Studies—for recognition, legitimacy, space, and resources—does continue.

References

Baker, Houston A. (1997). Black Studies: A new story. Chapter 3 (pp. 29-44) in Conyers, James L., Jr. (Ed.), Africana Studies: A disciplinary quest for both theory and method. London: McFarland and company. 

Basu, D., & Fairchild, H.H. (Eds.). (in preparation).Introduction to Africana Studies: An interdisciplinary chronology. Claremont, CA: The Intercollegiate Department of Black Studies.

Chideya, Farai. (1995).Chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 3-19 in Don’t Believe the Hype. NY: Penguin. 

Fairchild, H.H.(1995).Why Black history is not just for Blacks. Los Angeles Times, February 5, Page M6.

Hine, Darlene Clark (1997) Black Studies: An overview Chapter 1 (pp. 7-15) in Conyers, James L., Jr. (Ed.), Africana Studies: A disciplinary quest for both theory and method. London: McFarland and company.

Kelley, Robin D.G. (1997). Introduction:Looking B(L)ackward: African-American Studies in the age of identity politics. Chapter 1, pp. 1-16 in Judith Jackson Fossett & Jeffrey A. Tucker (Eds.), Race consciousness. NY: New York University Press.

Swindell, Warren. (1997). Notes on Administration of Africana Studies Departments and programs. Chapter 2 (pp. 16-29) in Conyers, James L., Jr. (Ed.), Africana Studies: A disciplinary quest for both theory and method. London: McFarland and company. 

The authors may be reached at Pitzer College, Claremont, CA 91711. ///\\\///\\\///\\\///\\\

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Icons of Ghana

By

Halford H. Fairchild, Ph.D.

________________________________________________________________________

When space permits, I will share a few favorite photographs that were taken in Ghana. The cover photograph is an example of the rich visual imagery available to travelers and photographers. The photograph, below, is a favorite of a shot in natural lighting. It was taken at the marketplace in Accra. Either photograph may be ordered, 11x14, archival quality paper and framing,$250.00; $150.00 unframed. Proceeds benefit The Association of Black Psychologists. Inquiries should be directed to me at PsychDiscourse@aol.com. 

 
 

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

________________________________________________________________________

Student Circle Contact Information

The current members of the Central Committee of the Student Circle are as follows:

Chairperson: Deirdre Sermons, M.A. (deeisat1@aol.com)

Immediate-past Chairperson: George Leary, M.A. (gel116@psu.edu)

Mid-West Regional Representative: Athena Porter, Ph.D. (athnprtr@aol.com)

Southern Regional Representative: Kevin Prince, M.A. (harambee@arches.uga.edu)

Undergraduate Representative: Sandra Wilson (swilsoncannon@hotmail.com)

Call for Papers

Call for Papers: Seeking empirical, theoretical, or applied papers that contribute to the understanding of therapeutic issues for biracial women to be included in a special issue of the journal, Women and Therapy. Please submit an Outline/Proposal in duplicate by December 15, 2000.Final deadline for completed papers is May 15, 2001.Manuscripts should be submitted in duplicate 10-20 pages in length in APA format accompanied by a letter indicating that the paper has not been published elsewhere and is not under review at another publication. A broad range of topics is acceptable so long as implications for psychotherapy with biracial women are addressed. Interested potential authors are encouraged to contact us prior to December 15, 2000 with an idea for a manuscript. Contact:Angela R. Gillem, Ph.D., Beaver College, 450 Easton Rd., Glenside, PA 19038, (215) 572-2184, gillem@beaver.edu.

Grant Writers Wanted!

GRANT WRITERS!THE ASSOCIATION OF BLACK PSYCHOLOGISTS is in need of Grant writers to write grants for the Association. We invite you to commit to assist our Association in remaining fiscally stable. You would work closely with the Grants Committee of the National Board of Directors. Grants are available to organizations such as ours but we often receive notices with turn around times of only two months. Grant money is available but must be applied for promptly. ABPSi could benefit if we had a core of grant writers in place.The Black community needs the research and services of Black psychologists. We encourage you to help us move to our rightful place as leaders! If you are interested in becoming more involved with the heart and soul of ABPsi, please let us know. Please send letters of intent with a copy of your resume to: Ms. Judy Ross, Treasurer and Chair of Grants Committee, National Office, The ABPsi, P.O. Box 55999, Washington, D.C., 20040-5999.

Funding!

The Ford Foundation has postdoctoral, predoctoral, and dissertation fellowships for "minorities." For more information, contact:Fellowship Office, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, DC20418.Phone:(202) 334-2872; Fax: (202) 334-3419; E-mail: infofell@nas.edu; Website:http://national-academies.org/osep/fo. Applications may be downloaded from our Website or filled out on-line.

Letters

Greetings, Dr. Fairchild: My name is Pamela Wrenn, I'm the Capacity Building Specialist with South Side Help Center (SSHC)/Midwestern Prevention Intervention Center (MPIC).SSHC has partnered with Jackson State University, Drew University, and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), with funding support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the African American Prevention Intervention Network (APIN).The mission of this initiative is to provide Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) to African American organizations funded by CDC, as they provide HIV prevention interventions to African Americans. South Side Help Center, Midwestern PIC serves a 12-state region: IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, & WI. As the Midwestern PIC, it is our task to identify highly qualified, behavioral scientists who are able to serve as consultants for the Network's (CBA) services. If you or other members within the mid-west are interested, please contact me at pwrenn@ameritech.net or at (773) 568-6245.If there is a listserv or other membership list for ABPsi, I'd like to forward this communication electronically. Please advise. Your help is most appreciated. Please review and share the attached letter. I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, Pamela Wrenn Capacity Building Specialist South Side Help Center/MPIC 11300 South Halsted, Suite F Chicago, IL 60628 ph. (773) 568-6245 fx. (773) 568-6278.

$100,000 Prizes

THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON COMMUNITY HEALTH LEADERSHIP PROGRAM (CHLP) honors ten outstanding individuals each year for their work in creating or enhancing healthcare programs serving communities whose needs have been ignored and unmet. Each leader receives $100,000 which includes a $5,000 personal stipend and $95,000 for program enhancement over a three-year period. CHLP seeks out individuals who have the leadership skills to overcome complex obstacles and find creative ways to bring healthcare services to their communities. All are largely unrecognized and in "mid-career," most often with no less than five and no more than fifteen years of community health work experience. The nomination process is open and nominations can be made by consumers, community health leaders, health professionals and government officials who have been personally inspired by the nominees. Interested nominators can write CHLP anytime for a brochure and a Letter of Intent form (LOI), due to the Program Office no later than Sept. 16th.You can view our brochure on line at: www.communityhealthleaders.org. Early submissions are guaranteed a prompt response. Contact: CHLP, 30 Winter Street, Suite 920, Boston, MA 02108.Phone: 617-426-9772.

E-Mail Directory

Beverly Colwell Adams <badams@rmwc.edu>

Adisa Ajamu <Aajamu@apa.org>

Na'im Akbar <nakbar@mindpro.com>

Patricia Allen <pallen@members.fyinfo.net>

Tonya D. Armstrong <tarmstrg@duke.edu>

Kimlin Ashing-Giwa <kashing@mail.cspp.edu>

Patricia Allen <pallen@members.fyinfo.net>

Ike Azuonye <Azuonye@aol.com>

Carolyn F. Bailey <CFBailey@aol.com>

Oscar A. Barbarin <barbarin@umich.edu>

Pearl Barner <barne004@maroon.tc.umn.edu>

Allister Barton <abarton_byhl_ca@hotmail.com>

Ruby Beale <rubeale@umich.edu>

Ron Beavers <RBeaverPHD@aol.com>

Faye Z. Belgrave <fzbelgra@saturn.vcu.edu>

Lester Bentley <hoteplb@africana.com>

Cheryl Beverly <CBeverly@elcamino.cc.ca.us>

Adetokunbo Borishade <sankofa@leading.net; website: http://users.southeast.net/~sankofa>

Rhonda Cherie Boyd <rboyd@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu>

Craig Brookins <craig_brookins@ncsu.edu>

Deborah Brome <brome@umbsky.cc.umb.edu>

Jeffery Butler <JButler@CSLANET.CalStateLA.edu>

Leon D. Caldwell <lcaldwell2@unl.edu>

Pat Canson-Griffith <CansonGrif@aol.com>

Dale Carter <WMYSS@aol.com>

Dominique Charlot-Swilley <dswilley@jhsph.edu>

Diahann Clark <Diahann00@aol.com)

Kevin Cokley <kcokley@siu.edu>

Sandra Cox <Sandilane4@aol.com>

U-Shaka Craig <Ushaka1@aol.com>

Claytie Davis III <cdavis@uhs.berkeley.edu>

Debra L. Davis < dldavis@gwu.edu>

Ramona Davis <rdavis@DHVX20.CSUDH.EDU>

Anthony Davison <adavison@umich.edu>

Darlene C. DeFour (ddefour@shiva.hunter.cuny.edu>

Dana Dennard <aakhet@aakhet.com>

Rhoan Dennis <RHOAN1@AOL.COM>

Martha Dorsey <Marthaldorsey1@AOL.COM>

Richard Doss <richdoss@sunset.backbone.olemiss.edu>

Glorious K. Dunkerley <Kerined@aol.com>

Kelly S. Ervin <ervink@mail.wsu.edu>

Halford Fairchild <E2e4mate@aol.com; 

website: http://bernard.pitzer.edu/~hfairchi/>

June Ferrell <spjtjaf@iop.bpmf.ac.uk>

Fatima Ford <FYFORD@aol.com>

Juliet Francis <jmfrancis@erols.com>

A.J. Franklin <ajaxfrank@aol.com>

Stan Gaines <sgaines@pomona.edu>

Angela R. Gillem <gillem@castle.beaver.edu>

Lawford Goddard <llgodd@sfsu.edu>

Paula G. Gomes <PGGomes@aol.com>

Samuel Gordon <sagord@usa.net>

Harvette Grey <hgrey@wppost.depaul.edu>

Patricia Grice <Pagpsi@aol.com>

Tawede Cheryl Grills <CgrillsI do@aol.com>

Carnita Groves <SENSURET@cs.com>

Jerry E. Hargrove, Jr. <HuNewmanCr@aol.com>

Angela Hargrow <amhargro@unccvm.uncc.edu>

Warren Harper <harperw@bahrain.navy.mil>

Shelly Harrell <shelly.harrell@pepperdine.edu>

Denise Hatter <DHatter@otterbein.edu>

Denise/Ayo Hinds-Zaami <DHindsZaam@aol.com>

Bertha G. Holliday <bholliday@apa.org>

Bill Jackson <R_Ready@pacbell.net>

James Jones <jaimejones@msn.com>

Arthur C. Jones <ajones@nova.psy.du.edu>

Patricia Jones <alienist@ix.netcom.com>

Willa Jones < Willa3@africana.com>

Lisa Jordan <ljordan@umbc.edu>

Journal of Black Psychology <rkburlew@juno.com>

Kobi Kambon <Kkkkambon@aol.com>

Jennifer F. Kelly <JFKPHD@aol.com>

Naa Oyo A. Kwate < nkwate@earthlink.net>

Demetrius Lamar <dlamar@lynx.dac.neu.edu>

William B. Lawson <WLawsonPsy@aol.com>

Harold Lee <H42537@aol.com>

George Leary <rasta@mail.burgoyne.com>

Dawn Katrina Lewis <hotep13082@aol.com>

Debra Lewis <dlewis2201@aol.com>

Dyanne P. London <Dyengland@aol.com>

Vukani Magwaza <MAGWAZA@psipsy.uct.ac.za>

Charles Mate-Kole <matekolec@ccsu.edu>

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Kathleen McDuffie <kfm9@cdc.gov>

Jeanne McIntosh <jmcintos@wppost.depaul.edu>

Latinia McKinney <LMcki58798@aol.com>

Paulette Melina <AziJo@aol.com>

Isaac T. Miller <Fhsike@aol.com>

Kenneth P. Monteiro <monteiro@sfsu.edu>

Lynda C. Morris <lmorris@lesley.edu>

Carolyn Murray <victory@citrus.ucr.edu>

Linda James Myers <Myers.19@osu.edu>

Willene Nelson < wd7731n@aol.com>

Dee Newson <dnewson@helios.acomp.usf.edu>

Wade W. Nobles <wnblkstd@sfsu.edu>

Kimani Norrington-Sands <peedub@pacbell.net>

Velile Notshulwana <notshulwanav@hotmail.com>

Nettie Ball Obleton <obleton@imap4.asu.edu>

Carlton H. Oler <COLER@Oakwood.edu>

John Oshodi <jos5930458@aol.com>

Olufemi Osunmilaya <Mawakana@aol.com>

Thomas Parham <taparham@uci.edu>

Nashay Pendleton <Ebnprncess@aol.com>

Nolan Penn <npenn@san.rr.com>

Fred Phillips <fbp@ntuplc.org>

Temille Porter <tporter@mizar.usc.edu>

Randolph Potts <potts@mail.hartford.edu>

Kevin J. Prince <YOPRINCE@housing.resfac.emory.edu>

Carlton Quarells <carltonquarells@email.msn.com>

Suzanne Randolph <sr22@umail.umd.edu>

Harriette Richard <Rich1599@aol.com>

Larry T. Richardson <ibhcltr@aol.com>

Al Roberts <aroberts@fac.howard.edu>

George Roberts <gwr2@CDC.GOV>

M. Renee Robinson <MReneeRob@aol.com>

Vera P. Roquemore <vroque1@umbc2.umbc.edu>

Daryl Rowe <daryl.rowe@pepperdine.edu>

Ayo Sanyika <asanyika@lu.lincoln.edu>

Deirdre 'Dee' Yvette Sermons <DEEISAT1@AOL.COM>

Pamela Shipp <shippp@leaders.ccl.org>

Kumea Shorter-Gooden <ksgooden@mail.cspp.edu>

William Smith <zodiacll@aol.com>

Satira Streeter <satira@juno.com>

Bill Thomas <WThomas181@aol.com>

Reva Thomas <Rreva@aol.com>

Lorean Thompson <L1Thompson@aol.com>

Shawn N. Thompson <snthomps@ic.sunysb.edu>

Ivory L. Toldson <itoldson@bellsouth.net>

Nkechi (Florence) Townsend <Nkechit 2@aol.com>

Chinita Trotter <ACTrotterPhD@JUNO.com>

Larry D. Turner <turner@uic.edu>

Joycelyn Turner-Musa <jturner@jhsph.edu>

Shawn O. Utsey <utseysha@shu.edu>

Gretchen Chase Vaughn <vaughng@earthlink.net>

Charles Waddell <cmwaddell@mindspring.com>

James Walker, Jr. <walkerj@eden.rutgers.edu>

Duncan Walton <duncan_walton@hotmail.com>

Nsenga Warfield-Coppock <drnsenga@aol.com>

Tameka Wellington <twellington@excite.com>

Lisa Whitten <LWHITT@aol.com>

Dan Williams <DWilliamsp@aol.com>

J.C. Williams <tarajia@injersey.com>

Khaliyah Williams <khaliyah@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU>

Otis Williams, III <otiswilliams3@juno.com>

Robert L. Williams <DR1EBONICS@aol.com>

Nathaniel Andrew Wilson <dnwilson@uswest.net>

LaPearl Logan Winfrey <lapwinf@aol.com>

Carl Word <CWord1147@aol.com>

Michael Wynne <mwynne@elcamino.cc.ca.us>

Tony Young <TutmoseFCS@aol.com>

To join this listing, send an e-mail to PsychDiscourse@aol.com (Hal Fairchild).For an electronic copy of the list, send an e-mail to PsychDiscourse@aol.com.If you think you have sent a note to join the list before, and don't see your name, please send it again!

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Classified Advertising

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alabama

Clinical Child Psychologist:The Children's Hospital of Alabama has been serving Alabama’s children since 1911 and is currently recruiting for a full-time Clinical Child Psychologist to perform evaluations and provide psychotherapy to patients. Minimum requirements for employment include Ph D. , completed internship from APA accredited programs, current license or be license eligible to practice as a clinical psychologist in Alabama, and prior experience providing psychological services to children and adolescents. Prefer formal postdoctoral training in pediatric/child psychology or 5 years postdoctoral experience providing psychological services to children and adolescents. Salary and benefits are competitive and will be commensurate with experience and qualifications.Our professional group includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurse practitioners, and case managers. We are hospital based and health system integrated service with three outpatient locations, and three inpatient psychiatric units. We provided services to Children's Hospital, pediatric primary care and specialty clinics within the Children’s Health System, and local mental health agencies and clinics. Screening ofapplications will continue until position is filled. The Children's Hospital of Alabama is an equal employment opportunity employer and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. Please send letter of interest, vita, selected work samples, and three letters of reference to Medical Director, Children's Behavioral Health Suite 500, 1600 7^th AvenueSouth, Birmingham, AL 35233.You may visit our website at:www. chsys. org. [AL1]

California

-See display ad, next page-

Quantitative Psychology, Position #575. The Department of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, invites applications for a tenured position at the associate professor level from individuals with strength in statistics and methodology.In addition to demonstrated sophistication in statistical analysis, we are interested in candidates who can successfully integrate his or her established program of research into one of the department's three areas of graduate specialization: developmental, cognitive, or social psychology--and who has a strong record of publication and teaching in their field. Applicants should be capable of teaching graduate-level courses on such techniques as MANOVA, multiple regression, structural equations, LISREL, EQS, etc. We seek to hire an individual whose strengths best complement the distinctive character of our department and are especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of our academic community through their research, teaching and/or service. Beginning salary is $55,200 - $61,500, commensurate with qualifications and experience. A Ph. D.(or equivalent) in psychology or related discipline is required, as well as an outstanding record of excellence as a researcher, and evidence of excellence in teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The position would be avai