From the Board of Directors: Eliminating Racism in Workplaces and Communities Task Force Update

SPSP facilitates the creation of time-limited task forces based on specific priorities for the year.  One of these task forces was the Anti-Racism Task Force.  The SPSP Anti-Racism task force recommended the creation of a public outreach subcommittee that would create anti-racism toolkits, resources, and support for SPSP members to use in the departments and communities. For this purpose, the Eliminating Racism in Workplaces and Communities Task Force was created in the fall of 2021 and is composed of subject matter experts from various institutions and career stages.

Task Force Members

Members include Malik Boykin (chair), Simon Howard, Kate Ratliff, Christine Reyna, Brenda Straka, Negin Toosi, Daryl A. Wout, and for several months Cydney Dupree. Former SPSP staff member Jan Kang initially oversaw this task force's activities and Julia Ryan has provided administrative support. Additional SPSP support has been provided by Rachel Puffer, (Executive Director), Keith Maddox (Member at Large for Community and Diversity), and Julie Garcia (Member at Large for Outreach and Advocacy). 

Goals and Achievements

The task force identified current anti-racism tools and will organize them along with creating original resources.  These documents will include mentoring resources and department resources to facilitate anti-racist mentorship and department policies. The task force met with the International Committee to get their perspective on the mentoring needs of international students to ensure mentoring materials would also be relevant for this demographic.  Mentorship resources will include rubrics, videos, and pamphlets.  Department resources will include a click-through website and department self-assessment checklist.  Once created, these resources will be available on the SPSP website and will be updated as needed.  In addition to providing these resources, this group also led a Free-Form Friday event on June 17, 2022, entitled "Social Psychology of Music as Resiliency and Resistance in African American Culture".

The activities of this task force align with several SPSP goals and objectives, including 1) promoting education, training, mentoring, and varied career opportunities in personality and social psychology, and 2) enhancing the diversity of people and ideas in the field and promoting an inclusive and respectful climate.  We appreciate the efforts of these task force members and look forward to sharing their resources with you.