Note: This piece reflects the views of the authors, independent of those of the Department of Psychology.
This week, the American Psychological Association (APA) informed members of the Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology (CEMRRAT) that it has been disbanded. This recent action calls into question APA’s commitment to increasing the recruitment, retention, and training of psychologists of color.
The Significance of CEMRRAT
CEMRRAT was established in 1994 after the APA designated ethnic minority education as a priority, with the goal of improving the recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities and addressing systemic barriers to their participation in psychology. CEMRRAT has been important because it devoted resources toward the advancement of ethnic minority issues. For example, historically, CEMRRAT has awarded implementation grants and seed funding to organizations, institutions, and individuals to support projects related to (a) recruitment and retention, (b) multicultural training, (c) mentorship and development, (d) innovation projects, and (e) data and research.
CEMRRAT was also known for producing several popular documents designed to support, recruit, and retain faculty of color. These documents included “Surviving and Thriving in Academia: A Guide for Women and Ethnic Minorities” and “How to Recruit and Hire Ethnic Minority Faculty.” The creation of CEMRRAT was particularly important given the painful experiences that racial and ethnic minorities have historically and contemporarily experienced in APA and by APA’s actions.
This latest move to disband CEMRRAT, while incredibly disappointing, is not surprising if you closely follow the history of APA. Like other organizations that claim to value diversity until faced with an existential threat and/or financial crisis, APA will sacrifice diversity-related interests under the guise of re-evaluating priorities. APA has also previously suspended the CEMRRAT budget, an action that was devastating to many APA members of color. While APA did eventually continue to support and fund CEMRRAT initiatives, recent actions have made it apparent that APA, contrary to what it claims, is not truly committed to redressing the harms it has historically committed against communities of color.
