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1 - Promoting Change amid Systemic Oppression

A Twenty-First-Century Call to Action for Communities and Community Psychologists

from Part I - Foundational Concepts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 December 2021

By
Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers
Edited by
Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers
Caroline S. Clauss-Ehlers
Affiliation:
Long Island University, New York
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Summary

This introductory chapter underscores how the events of 2020 remind us of the importance of community. It discusses how the experience of COVID-19 shows how we are connected across the globe. At the same time, the chapter addresses the differential impact of COVID-19 on communities of color. The chapter talks about how the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd highlight national and transnational concerns with police brutality and racial profiling. These realities introduce questions such as: What does it mean to belong to a community? How do systemic racism and discrimination interfere with belongingness, access to freedom, and even life and survival? How can communities push macro-level change in the face of systemic oppression? A brief history of community psychology and a review of key competencies are provided. A rationale and overall introduction to the book is included.

Keywords

Communitycommunity psychologysystemic racismecological approach to community psychologyinterdisciplinary approach to community psychologycommunity psychology competenciesCOVID-19police brutality.
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Community Psychology
Interdisciplinary and Contextual Perspectives
 , pp. 3 - 15
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

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