- President's Message
- Posted August 23, 2009
- Presented August 1, 2009
- Benson George Cooke, Ed.D.
ABPsi National President 2009/2011
- The 41st Presidential Address
- Annual International Convention of The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi)
Atlanta, Georgia - August 1, 2009
Presentation Title: CREATING ACCOUNTABLE AGENTS OF CHANGE
"On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it safe? And then expedience comes along and asks the question—is it politic? Vanity asks the question—is it popular? Conscience asks the question—is it right? There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must do it because conscious tells him it is right." Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution
Passion Sunday sermon at the National Cathedral (Episcopal)
In Washington, DC on March 31, 1968.
It was his last Sunday morning sermon.
THE BIRTH OF THE ASSOCIATION OF BLACK PSYCHOLOGISTS On September 2, 1968 in San Francisco, California a group of socially conscious, courageous and committed Black women and men combined their individual and collective talent and resources to establish a professional association of, by and for Black Psychologists. They mutually agreed to dedicate their intellectual resources to address the myriad of problems facing concerned Black Psychologists and their capability to effectively reach out and address the many needs of the Black community-at-large across America. Consequently, it became clear that to effect any significant change, required that Black Psychologists engage in actions that promoted self-reliance and self-determination. As a result, it became clear that seeking sovereignty from The American Psychological Association, an organization established in 1892 became inevitable. This inescapable conclusion was the result of the fact that no real urgency existed among APA’s leadership and collective membership to establish a high priority for confronting issues responsible for inequities in assessment & testing, mental health care and social advocacy among African American populations. Keep in mind that it was the exclusive influence of ABPsi members that championed the seminal class action suit titled, The Larry P Case initially filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on November 24, 1971. Briefly, this case was the result of black parents in San Francisco whose children had been inappropriately classified and placed in classes for the Educable Mentally Retarded (EMR) in the San Francisco Unified School District. With a trial beginning on October 11, 1977 several ABPsi members provided key expert witness testimony that resulted in a landmark decision on October 16, 1979 reporting that the plaintiff’s constitutional guarantees of equal protection by the laws had been violated (Hilliard, 1991; Thomas, 2000).
This case alone identified the rationale of the founding fathers of The ABPsi in addressing the key desire of seeking independence from any association including APA, which did not recognize value and respect the worth of Black cultural realities in solving problems stemming from the oppressive effects of racism and poverty in America. Tactically, establishing The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) created an opportunity to build a psychological institution that would not be evasive or noncommittal to significant issues pertaining to race, culture and poverty. Strategically, The Association Black Psychologists as a psychological association could prevail over biased actions, policies and procedures that had historically been used to minimize the influence of efforts to address serious ethnic, racial, cultural and economic issues affecting the Black community. Fittingly, The ABPsi offered culturally relevant collaborative relationships without fear of professional repudiation, career reprisal, or the need to apologize for confronting the effects of oppression, exploitation and inequality. The consequence of this seminal precedent to define our own reality within this profession resulted in our 41 year history of a proud legacy as the first professional and organizational voice of psychologists to address the pertinent issues that are now identified and cerebrated as diversity and multicultural psychology/counseling. This act of genius has been accomplished by a people who while able to trace historical roots to the cradle of African Civilization, were also the direct descendents of those who labored for more than two centuries without wages, and who endured the oppressive practices of Enslavement, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, White Supremacy, and Lynching along with other forms of racism. I believe that our ABPsi founders recognized that there is power in knowing and remembering our history. I also believe that they recognized, as our generation must, that if the inexpressible cruelties of enslavement could not stop us, then the oppression that our founders faced as early Black/African Psychologists would fail in limiting their vision or for that fact our own vision as an association that continues to carry-on the mission of psychological empowerment throughout the African Diaspora. Thus, with inspiring initiative, imagination and effort The ABPsi has created a unique voice to speak to issues and problems in a manner that is imitated by some, replicated by others and respected by all those who know and understand the value of developing a capacity to provide culturally relevant and competent mental health services. So what was the vision of our founders? In brief…The Founders Vision of The ABPsi…was Guided by the principle of self determination, whereby the founders and members “set about building an institution through which they could address the long neglected needs of Black professionals. Their goal was to have a positive impact upon the mental health of the national Black community by means of planning, programs, services, training, and advocacy. Their objectives were: To organize their skills and abilities to influence necessary change, and To address themselves to significant social problems affecting the Black community and other segments of the population whose needs society has not fulfilled” (ABPsi Vision Statement, 1968).
Tonight, I am humbled and proud to be among the pantheon of past presidents who have served The Association of Black Psychologists. Along my journey leading to this Enstoolment ceremony, I stand on knowledge and wisdom from our elders, I also stand on my conscious commitment to learn and understand what is required to Re-Awaken the Black/African Consciousness. Consequently, I’ve been blessed to have lived in a period in which I received preparation from ABPsi Past Presidents, BOD Members, Founders as well as conscientious professionals. This journey has involved a 17 year period of service at the local, regional and national level. A preparation initiated by 1st generation leaders whom I’ve had the opportunity to have been taught by, mentored/Jegnaed by and befriended by. A preparation that has also been grounded through a sort of baptism by fire into the heart and soul of the workings of The ABPsi. A preparation which for me began with Dr. Na’im Akbar sharply recommending my presence at business meetings and BOD meetings when I would have preferred an hanging out at convention sites with my friends/colleagues or avoiding my spectator role in BOD meetings; or Dr. Edwin J. Nichols always demanding that I push myself personally, academically and professionally beyond what I perceived as my personal best, or Dr. Thomas Parham who had a distinctive way of empowering me to envision myself with the capacity to successfully take on a leadership position or Asa Hilliard III who taught me the value of understanding the power of culture in and out of the field of psychology. Finally, the unique opportunity made available to me to receive pivotal guidance and instruction by working with members like Dr. Anthony Young or Dr. Kevin Cokley. Each of these and countless others all lifted me and made an imprint on my mind that we each have a unique place among this generation as an agent of change. In a recent article in the Psych Discourse I addressed some of what I believe represent necessary groundwork for the next generation of leadership. Two key ideas I discussed were the following: First, a recognition that true power of shaping our future lies within the voice of our membership, i.e., students, early career, mid-career and seasoned members; and Second, recognition that generationally speaking, the founders envisioned a perpetual passing of the leadership torch, which was reflected in the vision and mission statement.
As the generation before us recognized, we too must define this moment in history as one in which, in spite of our diverse differences we will choose to embrace the emancipation of a new consciousness. We must audaciously embark upon a collective effort to vigorously engage this association in an effort to sustain the change we desire. In other words, we must embrace this moment as one that heralds the prospect that we are in fact the ones that we’ve been waiting for to empower our vision for cultural, spiritual and humane psychological empowerment. I believe that there is tremendous power in an idea as it is in faith. Our contemporary presence here in America in spite of all the difficulties should give us hope that an empowered psyche that is spiritually grounded can change the direction of a person, a family, a community a nation and the world. MY VISION: INITIATING THREE STEPS TO ESTABLISH ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH COMMITMENT Tonight, I pledge to our membership that over the next two years my goal as President will involve establishing accountability through commitment. To accomplish this goal, I will focus my efforts on working with the Board of Directors in three key areas of growth: Commitment to improving the Financial Growth of The ABPsi; Commitment to improving the Technological Growth of The ABPsi; and Commitment of improving the Institutional Growth of The ABPsi.
Now allow me to define each of these 3 goals…As a child, my mother raised me to establish the value of setting up a long-term future plan. She used to talk to me about creating a ten year plan for what I wanted to accomplish. I’ve used this paradigm throughout my life and while my term is exactly two years, I plan to condense 10 years of ideas and imaginings into 2 years of action and results. STEP 1: ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH FINANCIAL GROWTH Step 1 towards becoming an accountable/responsible agent of change for Financial Growth involves our commitment to invest in 6 cherished investments. I believe that we must first improve our associations Commitment of Financial Growth by growing our capacity to generate revenue for the association that increases our total current assets to One Million Dollars over the next two years! Preposterous? No! Ambitious? Yes! And Possible? Yes! (So the Yes’s have it!) How can this be worked out? First, we must recognize that economically speaking; we can no longer operate under a “mom and pop shop mentality” and accomplish a successful business plan. We must recognize and understand that we can no longer do the same thing, the same way and expect different results…as my mom used to say, doing things that way is crazy.
There is a Rwanda Burundi Proverb that says: “If you are building a house and a nail breaks, do you stop building, or do you change the nail?” I think you might agree that it is wiser to just Change The Nail and Keep Building! For The ABPsi, this is a time of Change from the old to modern ways of managing our association as the 501 (c)(3) Professional Organization. We must seek out economic opportunities that can help us to generate revenue through 6 of our cherished investment portfolios. The first cherished investment of the ABPsi which generates income is the Psych Discourse. This is accomplished through Advertising. We now have a unique opportunity to seek out relevant clients willing to commit to our values (to the extinct that we hold them accountable), while investing in our ability to connect with the issues facing our community nationally and internationally. The second cherished investment of The ABPsi which generates income is the Annual Convention. This is accomplished through Sponsorship. For many associations, the annual convention is the largest revenue generating engine of an association. While there have been some good years, the average outcome has been break-even. Here we have an opportunity to invest in our ideas, our intellect and the service we’ve provided for over 41 years to our community by bringing in relevant sponsors to support our mission to our community. Again, we should be able to generate an increase that will offset the financial strain currently placed on student’s lodging and travel as well as incentives for early, mid-career and seasoned members to attend annual conventions. Allow me to pause here for a commercial! (This commercial message is as follows):
We can no longer expect something for nothing! Members have realistic expectations for the cost of their membership and we do a great disservice by not honoring their expectations and valuing their relationship. Now Back Your Regularly Scheduled Program (pause)…My Presentation!
By planning carefully and prudently, we have an opportunity to grow our convention registration and participation while increasing revenue. We must recognize that our future is in our hands and the shape of our future will be determined by the way we take hold! The third cherished investment of The ABPsi which generates income is the Internationally famous Journal of Black Psychology. This is accomplished through improving our national and international involvement with SAGE and establishing our advertising via our web site portal link and Psych Discourse subscriptions. To date, this investment has yielded outstanding capital for our association.
The fourth cherished investment of The ABPsi which generates income are our Product Sales. This is accomplished through the sale of products and material supporting our own merchandise that includes our catalog of upcoming DVD Archive footage of interviews and theoretical conversations on cultural competence; as well as our writings and links to professional internet sites to acquire research material. We also have an unprecedented opportunity to create our own IT distance learning workshops. I believe that once we’ve had a chance to build upon our internet electronic store the opportunities become limitless in our capacity to provide our knowledge and understanding to mental health institutions, schools, faculty, and students the wisdom of our elders, scholars and intellectual giants. The fifth cherished investment of the ABPsi which generates income is Grant Writing. This is accomplished through the training of our members in Grant Writing and Grant Writing Resources. Within this category alone the potential lies to earn immense revenue to manage the discretionary side of annual conventions, support student stipends, professional research and reinvest in programs designed to help our communities effectively manage mental health issues, educational issues, social justice issues and economic issues. The sixth cherished investment of The ABPsi which generates income is increased Membership. This is accomplished through inclusiveness in recruitment. Our membership can also be a significant part of our fiscal growth. We must invest in ourselves before we ask others to invest in us. We must love ourselves and have faith in ourselves in order to demand others to believe and trust us. Of course, while not a part of my 6 cherished investments, I firmly believe that we must also look for continued growth from our ABPsi Foundation and its genuine desire and mission to help our association grow financially. As is the case with most foundations, the possibilities for financial support can be considerable.
STEP 2: ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH TECHNOLOGICAL GROWTH This brings me to Step 2 towards becoming an accountable agent of change. There is a Nigerian Proverb that states: “The day in which one starts out is not the time to start one’s preparation.” Effective use of technology requires vision, and vision requires that we create what is needed to keep information flowing on the Information Technology Highway without unnecessary delays and weak spots. Therefore, the second goal of my presidency calls for improving the Commitment of our Technological Growth by announcing my plan to make an executive appointment of a Technology Coordinator. This individual will serve in both an administrative and technical role. This individual will possess a technical background with proven experience and expertise in reviewing and managing technology related proposals and projects to ensure that technology projects are furthering the business objectives of The ABPsi. We must embrace 21st century technology as a means to an end. By establishing continuity of services within our technology infrastructure, we will be able to increase access for mental health professionals to sit for certification through Licensure, Certification Proficiency and Program (LCPP). LCPP alone has already generated more than double the investment of what it took to get it started. We already have the only program ready to go national and international in securing that mental health providers, educators, and researchers annually receive culturally sensitive and relevant competency training and education by attending our annual conventions. However, if we really think big about this, we will establish the following: (1) virtual educational training through webinars; (2) blogs represented annually during our conventions providing information for those unable to physically attend; or (3) pay-for-view video streams of special presentations accessible year round. Finally, we have an unprecedented opportunity to utilize technology as an instrument of change via technology sources like Facebook and Twitter.
STEP 3: ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH INSTITUTIONAL GROWTH This brings me to Step 3 towards becoming an accountable agent of change. Finally, there is a Nigerian Proverb that says: “Before shooting, one must aim.” Since my involvement in 1992, I believe that the consensus of anecdotal opinions among members is that we should be more involved at a national and international level. We clearly have membership scholars, membership intellectuals, and a growing significant student membership who see The ABPsi as an ambassador of culturally relevant input concerning public policy decision making. So now comes the hard question. (Let me preface my thought by sharing a saying my mother used to share with me. Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it!) Now the Question: What do we REALLY WANT TO BE? And how can we best get There? This question yields a wealth of information concerning how courageous an association we want to remain. If we want to establish credibility as a foremost authority on Black/African Psychology then we must have the resources to move forward. This involves not only financial resources, but personnel resources. Although we may have had an Executive Director in the past, circumstances have dramatically changed and we must again seriously consider what we want to be and what is required to get us there as an organization. Once we’ve seriously answered this question, I cannot help but believe that we will conclude that having an Executive Director on staff will help not hinder our future path toward this goal. I believe that we do a disservice to the dedicated men and women who volunteer their time and energy only to have their efforts lead to professional burnout, when the demands on their time exceed their capacity to give. I believe that we must seriously consider strategies that reduce not add to their valued time, energy and expertise. Therefore, the third goal of my presidency calls for improving the Commitment of Institutional Growth by establishing key positions of an Executive Director and Technology Coordinator to help the services of Walk-On Management as well as to strengthen the volunteer force of students, early career, mid-career and seasoned professionals. Institutional growth also requires that we seriously recognize and value the age, specialization and philosophical diversity of our membership. Like in any family there have been divisions, but our survival is based on our capacity for openness and inclusiveness which is a part of our African Axiology, i.e., The Highest Value is in our Relationships. Finally, Institutional Growth also requires that we engage in the establishment of a place that we all can call home i.e., an office building or suite of offices or our family compound. As I reflect with clarity on what we must do, I believe that we must define our reality in ways that insure accountability through commitment. We must with increased courage and pride love ourselves, believe in ourselves, invest in ourselves and above all, we must plan as though our life depends on it…because in the final analysis…it does!
So, I close by thanking you for your presence here today as I respectably accept the duties and responsibilities of President of The Association of Black Psychologists to create agents of change who are accountable Financially, Technologically, and Institutionally. Thank you and Good Night. References:
Hilliard, A.G. (1991). (Ed). Testing African American Students. Morristown, NJ: Aaron Press.
Thomas, W.A. (2000). (Ed). Larry P. Revisited: IQ Testing of African-Americans. San Francisco, CA: California Publishing Company.
Dr. Benson Cooke is the National President of The Association of Black Psychologists. He may be reached in care of the National Office. PO Box 55999, Washington, D. C. 20040-5999 - Phone: (202) 722-0808.
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