Dismantling racism through partnership with resettled refugee communities.

Abstract

The enormous and ever-increasing problem of forced displacement warrants the attention of psychological science to play a role in leading efforts to address the needs of refugee communities. As a nation of immigrants, the United States has a long and complicated history of refugee admissions, including both generous and racist policies and sentiments. Examining the past can increase our capacity to transform the future. Taking conscious action to dismantle racism is of central importance to begin to make reparations and find pathways toward healing. Recognizing the instrumental role of systemic forces, three guideposts to support an antiracist foundation for research and practice in psychology are drawn from existing frameworks and applied to the case of refugees. These include (a) remembrance as an act of historical and sociopolitical analysis, (b) truth-telling to engage in critical self-reflection within the field of psychology, and (c) accompaniment alongside refugee communities to develop partnerships that reinforce their strengths and agency and directly benefit them. These guideposts underscore the importance of upholding community priorities and empowering refugee communities to reclaim their own cultural knowledge and strengths and to create effective and sustainable programs, with the potential for significant public health impact. As such, psychologists can play a critical role in transforming social systems over time and actively working to dismantle racism.

Dismantling racism in the field of psychology and beyond: Introduction to the special issue.

“…Second, Kia-Keating (2024) ponders how the United States, as a nation of immigrants, has a dual history of generous and racist policies toward immigrants and refugees. Rooted in the vision that examining our past increases our capacity to transform our future, the author addresses how to dismantle the racism against refugee populations.…”