Testimonios in the mouth of the dragon: A call for Black liberation in psychology.

Abstract

U.S. society has witnessed and experienced the impact and suffering caused by the racial pandemic within the COVID-19 viral pandemic. In response to anti-Blackness, a multigenerational and multiracial movement of people is rising and demanding justice for Black lives. Using testimonio research and Liberation Psychology as a theoretical framework, the authors describe their current understanding of what it means to practice a more responsible resistance to racist power structures as non-Black Latinas in the field of psychology. Braun and Clarke's (2016) thematic analysis (TA) was used to search for patterns of meaning within the authors' testimonios. Results revealed four themes: (a) to "hold the line" means to struggle for Black liberation, (b) confront anti-Blackness and colonial mentality in the self and community, (c) challenge anti-Blackness within the field of psychology, and (d) collective struggle. The third theme was divided into two subthemes: (a) tear down and (b) center Black lives. The testimonios emphasize that practicing allyship involves being a dissenter who questions and challenges colonial mentality and anti-Blackness, who fights for the abolition of racist policies and power systems, and who moves beyond the hegemonic values that exist in the field of psychology. This study presents the use of testimonio research and Liberation Psychology as suitable tools for psychologists to increase their racial consciousness. Public Significance StatementThis article aims to disrupt the dominant use of positivist methodologies in antiracist research in Counseling Psychology. The authors underscore the important role that testimonio research and Liberation Psychology can play in psychologists' efforts to increase their racial consciousness and understanding of allyship.

“They treat us like we are not human”: Asylum seekers and “la migra's” violence.

“…Testimonio research, which explores first-person accounts of participants’ lived experiences, emerged out of Latin American studies in opposition to positivist and Eurocentric research paradigms (Booker, 2002). This methodological approach is critical, political, and decolonizing in nature (Cervantes et al, 2018), and it situates the researcher “in communion with a collective experience marked by marginalization, oppression, or resistance” (Cervantes et al, 2018; Delgado Bernal et al, 2012, p. 363; Domínguez & Noriega, 2022).…”

“…Testimonio research acknowledges that marginalized individuals, particularly those impacted by colonization, have had their history written by the oppressor or colonizer (Domínguez & Noriega, 2022). Testimonio research creates opportunities through first-person accounts for participants to document their experiences with oppression and exploitative conditions (Comas-Díaz & Torres Rivera, 2020; Domínguez & Noriega, 2022).…”

“…Testimonio research acknowledges that marginalized individuals, particularly those impacted by colonization, have had their history written by the oppressor or colonizer (Domínguez & Noriega, 2022). Testimonio research creates opportunities through first-person accounts for participants to document their experiences with oppression and exploitative conditions (Comas-Díaz & Torres Rivera, 2020; Domínguez & Noriega, 2022). This methodological approach was selected because it privileges and centers sources of knowledge within BIPOC communities and brings to light the voices of individuals in the shadows, including Latinx asylum seekers (Domínguez & Noriega, 2022; Huber, 2009, p. 641).…”

“…Testimonio research creates opportunities through first-person accounts for participants to document their experiences with oppression and exploitative conditions (Comas-Díaz & Torres Rivera, 2020; Domínguez & Noriega, 2022). This methodological approach was selected because it privileges and centers sources of knowledge within BIPOC communities and brings to light the voices of individuals in the shadows, including Latinx asylum seekers (Domínguez & Noriega, 2022; Huber, 2009, p. 641). In qualitative research, there are various factors to consider for sample size, including saturation, research questions, phenomena at study, scope of experiences, and analytic strategy (Malterud et al, 2016; Saunders et al, 2018).…”

Structural Competencies: Re-Grounding Counseling Psychology in Antiracist and Decolonial Praxis

“…Anti-Blackness, characterized by indifference, disdain, and antagonism towards Black humanity, is deeply ingrained within the systems and structures of United States society both historically and contemporarily (Bryant-Davis & Moore-Lobban, 2020; Domínguez & Noriega, 2022; Mosley et al, 2021). This insidious problem at the individual level is learned and perpetuated by these systemic structures, making it clear that addressing it cannot be achieved solely at the individual level.…”