President's Message- ABPsi: Building Bridges for the Future

A Call to Action

Posted December 30, 2011

Cheryl Towede Grills, Ph.D. President 2011-2012

As you know, an important focus for ABPsi—set forth in the 2011 presidential enstoolment address—was  building bridges through collaboration with organizations in the service of African/Black communities. There has been considerable momentum and our efforts are yielding fruit.  Notable advances have occurred within three areas:  our collaboration with the Community Healing Network (CHN), our youth mentoring partnership with the National Alliance of Faith and Justice (NAFJ) and the national CARES Mentoring Movement, and our support of the inaugural Caribbean Psychology Conference.

CHN: Building a Nationwide Network of Community Healing Circles

In 2010, ABPsi launched a collaborative effort in support of the work of the Community Healing Network (CHN).  CHN’s mission is to mobilize Black people to overcome the lie of Black inferiority and the emotional legacies of slavery and racism. Their goal is to build a nationwide grassroots network of self-help groups—forging community healing circles focused on emotional emancipation and healing for Black people by 2019, the 400th anniversary of the forced arrival of Africans in Jamestown Colony—so that, as a people, we will see ourselves in a whole new light by the year 2020.

Since the launch of its healing circles initiative in 2008, people have participated by sponsoring community healing movie nights on the Friday of Community Healing Days; healing conversations (that led to healing book clubs and movie clubs) and community healing walks on Saturdays; and healing services in churches on Sundays. Last year, 2010, CHN added the Wear Sky Blue initiative.  Dr. Maya Angelou, Chair of their Board of Advisors, issued a call to people everywhere to wear items of clothing the color of the sky on a bright sunny day during Community Healing Days — as an act of solidarity to show our collective commitment to the movement for emotional emancipation. People in more than 70 cities responded to Dr. Angelou’s call last year; and people in more than 130 cities responded this year.

CHN reached out to ABPsi, requesting our expertise in building a nationwide network of healing circles.  ABPsi and its members were called upon to provide professional advice, technical support, and hands-on help in refining or revising their vision to bring the healing circles to life in ways that would truly liberate and empower Black people. At the 2011 convention,CHN was an invited guest for an Mbongi to feature its work and the documentary Dark Girls. ABPsi members responded enthusiastically and volunteered to help build the network — and, with it, the movement for emotional emancipation. While the initial plan was to pilot at least 10 healing circles, as part of the celebration of Community Healing Days 2011 (October 14, 15, and 16) this was pre-empted by the delayed release of the Dark Girls documentary (produced by Bill Duke and directed by Chann Berry).  The film was to be a featured component of the healing circles’ activities and features commentary by several leaders in the Association. (The documentary will not be theatrically available until the end of the year or the beginning of 2012.)