Community Psychology's abuse of empowerment to further a white supremacist agenda

Tran, Nellie

doi:10.1002/ajcp.12676

American J of Comm Psychol

2023

DOI: 10.1002/ajcp.12676

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Community Psychology's abuse of empowerment to further a white supremacist agenda

Nellie Tran

Abstract: When White people are predominantly in power and the discipline has yet to grapple with its own involvement in oppressive and racist ideologies, the concept of empowerment has the potential of being misused, or worse, abused. This is my experience and observation within Community Psychology (CP). In this paper, I interrogate the history of CP, especially the interplay of colonized knowledge production practices and the concept of empowerment, and uncover the use and abuse of well‐meaning community psychologica… Show more

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Cited by 3 publications

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“…The harm inflicted by these systems extends to the field of community psychology (CP) itself, from which participatory research methodologies were derived (Wallerstein, 2021). Beals et al (2021) explain that "…community psychology, as it was established, is a part of the imperialist empire-a mainstream academic discipline" (p. 6) This view is supported by Tran (2023), who states that CP "has a flawed history where notions of Euro-centrism and white supremacy was not interrogated sufficiently and thereby launched CP into many decades of reproducing a masked version of White privilege and Eurocentric epistemologies and general ways of being" (p. 2). Beals et al (2021) postulate that although the field is deeply embedded in white supremacist values, through acknowledgment and action, it is possible for CP to "align with current sovereignty and liberation movements" (pp.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Community Harm Risk Assessment Review Board and a Reflective Praxis Guide as a Radical Participatory Process for Harm … 91), there is still critical work that is needed to make fundamental systemic changes to participatory research methods and facilitate harm reduction in our work. Tran (2023) proposes the following to address the harm inherent in the field of community psychology and to facilitate related healing and restorative work:…”

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Community Harm Risk Assessment Review Board and a Reflective Praxis Guide as a Radical Participatory Process for Harm Reduction in Participatory Action Research and Evaluation

McGee,

Garcia,

Lord

et al. 2023

Journal of Participatory Research Methods

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This paper calls for the critical and ongoing examination of the often invisible harm that occurs in traditional participatory research (and evaluation) efforts. The authors argue that this harm is caused by and must be understood within the context of white supremacist and colonial systems that inform practice standards and norms. In response, we introduce a Community Harm Risk Assessment (CHRA) Reflective Praxis Guide grounded in principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) and trauma-informed practices as a radical participatory process for harm reduction in evaluation and participatory research. This new approach is explored in the context of opening a Center to support the implementation of the CHRA and a Community Harm Risk Assessment Review Board (CHRARB), an initiative motivated by the lead author’s nearly two decades of experience in conventional participatory research (and evaluation) methods and observing how these methods and the misuse of these methods, can cause more harm than healing to individuals and communities intended to benefit through our work. This paper will provide an overview of the literature that speaks to observed limitations currently present in participatory research methods, share harmful practices present in participatory research (and evaluation) work, and introduce the Center, CHRARB, and CHRA reflective praxis guide for practitioners, applied researchers, and evaluators to address harm with more intentionality in their work, as well as strategically shift research and evaluation practices away from colonial and white supremacist norms.

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confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Harm Risk Assessment Review Board and a Reflective Praxis Guide as a Radical Participatory Process for Harm Reduction in Participatory Action Research and Evaluation

McGee,

Garcia,

Lord

et al. 2023

Journal of Participatory Research Methods

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Imperial algorithms: Contemporary manifestations of racism and colonialism

Thomas,

Wilson

2024

American J of Comm Psychol

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In this special issue, we invited contributions that critically examined issues of imperialism, colonialism, power, justice, etc. to expand the canon of anticolonial scholarship and critical scholarship in community psychology. Our two objectives were: (1) to build on the canon of anticolonial and critical race scholarship to cultivate an empirical and theoretical body of work and conceptual frameworks about racism and colonialism within the field of community psychology and (2) to unpack the different manifestations of racism in society from the lens of community psychology and reflect on the implications of these varied forms of injustice in the contemporary moment. Rooted in African epistemology and methodology (Martin, 2021), we find the concept of the algorithm to serve as a potent metaphor for the ways in which these oppressive structures operate given the prevalence of algorithms in our daily lives and the algorithm is symbolic of the information age and predictive powers that seem to govern society beyond conscious control. In this sense, imperial algorithms are these structures, patterns, processes, and procedures that perpetuate imperialism. These imperial algorithms manifest as neo‐colonialism, surveillance, social engineering, carcerality, reality warping of contemporary racism, health disparities exacerbated by COVID‐19, and environmental grids of oppression.

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Repression breeds resistance: A call for a methodology of radical solidarity and love to respond to the prison industrial complex and academia's eugenic tendencies

Xinachtli,

Ilyés

2024

Human Geography

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This collaborative autoethnographic article traces psychology's complicity in systems of oppression while highlighting pathways toward liberation. An expression and embodiment of radical solidarity, this article is the product of a research collaboration between an incarcerated justice advocate and a critical psychologist. Critical autoethnographic methods are leaned on to lift experiences of prison as an oppressive institution and illuminate forms of resistance. We strategically and deliberately co-created this methodological approach to joyfully render prison walls metaphorically porous, to seep through surveillance mechanisms (both within the prison and academia), and to build liberatory worlds through our words. Situating mass incarceration as an extension of colonial displacement and enslavement, we dialogically examine how psychology has upheld white supremacy through the illusion of objectivity and neutrality. Psychological concepts like critical consciousness and resilience are re-theorized to center embodied, collective struggles. Calling for psychology to move beyond apologies toward deep structural change and distributive justice, we advocate for centering the experience of those historically excluded in knowledge construction, resource allocation, and leadership. Imagining a psychology of love and solidarity, we urge dismantling oppressive institutions through pedagogies of radical solidarity. Our collaboration—across prison walls—models methodologies of mutual aid, conscientization, and power sharing to build a liberatory psychology.

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Community Psychology's abuse of empowerment to further a white supremacist agenda

Cited by 3 publications

References 34 publications

Community Harm Risk Assessment Review Board and a Reflective Praxis Guide as a Radical Participatory Process for Harm Reduction in Participatory Action Research and Evaluation

Community Harm Risk Assessment Review Board and a Reflective Praxis Guide as a Radical Participatory Process for Harm Reduction in Participatory Action Research and Evaluation

Imperial algorithms: Contemporary manifestations of racism and colonialism

Repression breeds resistance: A call for a methodology of radical solidarity and love to respond to the prison industrial complex and academia's eugenic tendencies

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