06/18/2020
Please see the statement below from the Executive Committee of SCCR (it is also attached as a photo).
We at SCCR are stunned by the unjust and unacceptable murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless other Black people in the United States. These tragic murders are unfortunately not isolated incidents of violence done to Black communities nor violence done unto other communities of color in the US or indigenous communities around the globe. Said best by a Hennepin County (Minnesota) Public Defender, recent social actions reflect “the process that is due when due process is not available.” Consistent inflammatory, discriminatory, and oppressive rhetoric and behavior have emanated from institutions of power in the United States to the detriment of Black people and other persons of color who have been systematically pushed to the margins. This must be met with action, both in protests and in the science that our community can offer.
The values and ethics of SCCR call for our community of scholars to be mindful of the unique perspectives of individuals. We embrace the reality that psycho-social experiences are inextricably linked to cultural contexts, identities, norms, and traditions. What we see happening around us evidences that patterns of hate, discrimination, oppression, and institutionally-condoned violence against marginalized people are perpetuated by the cultural institutions of those with power in the United States. We also recognize that this discrimination is not singularly overt but can instead manifest in insidious ways reflective of white privilege, fragility, and avoidance.
SCCR is a community in which we share explorations of phenomena across and within cultures. Our members conduct rich, meaningful research that has highlighted experiences of social injustice and inequity alongside examinations of human development, wellness, and social processes. As a society, we recognize our need to continue to forward the scholarship of our members, encouraging members and those outside SCCR to share their work that addresses the cultural contexts in which we find police violence, anti-Blackness, social injustice, and institutionally supported racism.
We also recognize our privilege as scholars whose work may be distant from the lived experiences of those enduring injustice. As such, we aim to center dialogues about injustice at our meetings, including working to foster specific programming about social injustice globally and in the United States, institutional violence against marginalized individuals, and the privilege of power in future meetings of SCCR. Many of our members have allied with indigenous communities fighting for land rights and continue to examine inequity where it exists around the globe. We are nearing our 50th year as a community of scholars, and we believe it is critical that our society, with the support of our membership, create spaces for conversations about privilege, anti-Blackness, racism, and discrimination that propel all of us to pursue change. Creation of such spaces will be undertaken intentionally during our next conference. We believe this also means encouraging diversity within our membership and for our members with privilege to be cognizant of that privilege. We, the board of SCCR, commit to addressing injustice in our work, teaching, and lives, and we encourage our membership to similarly be partners in this work, using their voices to also address inequity.
SCCR Executive Committee
