support racial justice
The lives, safety, and mental and physical wellbeing of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) matter, and we share responsibility for supporting BIPOC members of the community, including those we serve professionally, as well as our own BIPOC colleagues and trainees. We recognize that institutions of which we are a part have played roles in creating and maintaining systems of oppression and violence directed against BIPOC individuals. Individually and collectively, we must engage in the anti-racist, antiviolent, BIPOC-affirming work that can and must change lives and institutions. In all of this work, we must center BIPOC voices.
At the same time, those of us who are White should be mindful of adding to the already-heavy workload, including the emotional workload, being carried by BIPOC individuals. We offer this non-exhaustive list of ideas as to how BIPOC individuals can find support and how White allies and accomplices can do their own work to disrupt and dismantle systems of oppression:
In support of the AAPI community
The March 18, 2021, killings of eight people in the Atlanta area – including six Asian Americans and seven women – underscore a long history of discrimination and violence directed against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, and gender-based violence directed against AAPI women in particular. Targeted acts of racism and violence have increased in recent months: Stop AAPI Hate received reports of 3,795 hate incidents between March 19, 2020, and February 28, 2021 (likely a small fraction of actual incidents), and 31% of Asian Americans report having experienced racial slurs or racist jokes during the COVID-19 pandemic (https://stopaapihate.org/).
Continuing incidents of anti-AAPI discrimination and violence place an ongoing burden on community members already facing numerous systemic challenges. As noted by DU Chancellor Jeremy Haefner,
“In an already tremendously difficult moment in time, this intolerable behavior and rhetoric has increased stress and fear. These continued incidents are not only forms of anti-Asian racism, but also misogyny, as well as continuing anti-immigrant sentiments. The University of Denver stands in solidarity with the Asian American Pacific Islander community and unequivocally denounces hatred, racism and discrimination in all its forms.”
Read the full University of Denver Statement In Support of the AAPI Community
Resources
From Maria Droste Counseling Center:
If you need immediate support, the Colorado Crisis Services is reachable at 844-493-8255 or by Texting “Talk” to 38255.
If you are looking for grief counseling, please reach out to our Access Center at Intake@MariaDroste.org or 303-867-4600.
Additional information, resources, and statements:
- Asian American Psychological Association Statement on the Atlanta-Area Mass Shooting (March 18, 2021)
- Written testimony from the Asian American Psychologist Association before the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Hearing on “Discrimination and Violence Against Asian Americans,” March 18, 2021
- Denver Asian American Pacific Islander Commission
- Statement from AAPI Progressive Action
- From BLM5280
- Statement of the American Psychology Association (APA) President
- Statement of the American Psychology-Law Society (AP-LS; APA Division 41) in Response to the Atlanta-area March 2021 deaths
- From the Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice (APA Division 37)
- For information about discrimination against members of the AAPI community in Colorado
- NBC news article, featuring Dr. Apryl Alexander of the DU Graduate School of Professional Psychology
Special thanks to the faculties of the DU Graduate Schools of Social Work and Professional Psychology for compiling the information on this webpage.
In support of those impacted by acts of mass violence
As of mid-April, more than 147 mass shootings have been reported in the United States in 2021, more than one per day on average, with more than 5,400 deaths attributed to gun violence in the U.S. so far this year (link)
Included in these tragic statistics are the deaths of 10 people who were victims of the shooting at King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado, on March 22, 2021. The ongoing loss of life in acts of mass violence continues to impact individuals and communities in many ways, including throughout Colorado and beyond. Please see the Statement of the University of Denver In Support of Boulder.
Resources
- Colorado Psychological Association Resource List (link)
- The Colorado Resilience Collaborative (supports those impacted by targeted violence due to radicalization and discrimination, focusing on race/ethnicity, nationality, faith, and ideology) (link)
- From Maria Droste Counseling Center:
If you need immediate support, the Colorado Crisis Services is reachable at 844-493-8255 or by Texting “Talk” to 38255.
If you are looking for grief counseling, please reach out to our Access Center at Intake@MariaDroste.org or 303-867-4600. - From Senator Michael Bennet’s Facebook page:
If you are looking for support after the traumatic events in Boulder, please:
Call the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990
Text TalkWithUs to 66746
If you are in crisis: Call 1-844-493-8255. Text TALK to 38255 - Resources from The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (includes resources for parents and age-specific materials) (link)
- UC Health: “We Are Boulder” – How to Deal With Tragedy and Trauma Related to Mass Shootings (link)
- UC resources for health care workers (link)
- Therapy Aid Coalition – Free and low-cost short term therapy for those impacted by Table Mesa Shootings in Boulder (link)
- Statement of APA president in response to rash of mass shootings in one week (link)
- https://psychology.du.edu/community-engagement/standing-solidarity
- Dispelling the Myth of Violence and Mental Illness (link)
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Special thanks to the faculties of the DU Graduate Schools of Social Work and Professional Psychology for compiling the information on this webpage.
Resources for BIPOC community members who are experiencing traumatic reactions to recent, highly publicized events of racial violence in the context of longstanding, systemic oppression
Resources
- Racism Recovery Plan (doc)
- youthseen.org
A Denver-area organization serving queer youth of color and their families. - nnctc.org
An organization whose mission is to co-facilitate trauma-focused healing for Native children, families, and communities. This work requires understanding, respect, and honoring of tribal sovereignty, specific community needs, and the use of traditional healing practices. - tribalinformationexchange.org
DU’s Butler Institute for Families Center’s Tribal Information Exchange website has trauma-related resources, many focused on addressing historical and contemporary trauma and secondary traumatic stress in the Native workforce. - therapyforblackgirls.com
A resource for identifying Black therapists in your area. - Mental Health Resources Specific to Black Individuals
This is a resource list compiled by Trace-Fleming-Trice, administrator of Self-Care for Advocates. - 14 Organizations and People Working to Support BIPOC Mental Health During the Coronavirus Crisis
This list was compiled by Rochaun Meadows-Fernandez to identify nonprofits, online communities, and therapists that center BIPOC.
Online Resources
- Building an Anti-Racist Action Plan
- Moving from Cultural Competence to Anti-Racism
- Resources to Address Racism and Racial Violence (National Council on Family Relations)
- For Our White Friends Desiring To Be Allies
- “Ally” is a verb: White Privilege & Fragility Resource List
- 75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
- Beyond the Hashtag: How to Take Anti-Racist Action in Your Life
- Anti-racism resources (Google doc)
- 26 Ways to Be in the Struggle Beyond the Streets
- 5 Things White People Can Do Right Now to Combat White and State-Sanctioned Violence
- After Arbery shooting, black parents are rethinking ‘the talk’ with sons to explain white vigilantes
- Affirming Black Lives Without Inducing Trauma
- Why Teaching Black Lives Matter Matters Part I
- Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They’re Okay – Chances Are They’re Not
- A Conversation on Race Equity in America With Dr. Apryl Alexander
Books
- Anti-Racist books for kids
- How to Be an Antiracist
- White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism
- The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (see also this article, Ten Years After “The New Jim Crow”)
If you are considering purchasing books or other materials, please consider supporting local Black-owned bookstores; here is one such list, and there are many others. Indiebound provides links to local independent bookstores based on geographic location (however, they do not identify Black-owned businesses specifically).
Resources for Clinicians
- Whiteness Matters: Exploring White Privilege, Color Blindness and Racism in Psychotherapy (psychotherapy.net)
- Discussing Community Trauma in Response to Killings and Mistreatment of Black and Brown Americans (pdf)
- Consultations for clinicians who are working with Native populations (rural and urban) who have experienced trauma are available by contacting Dr. Nancy Lucero.
- Thank you to Dr. Henrietta Pazos for providing the following from the National Latinx Psychological Association: “A Toolkit for non-Black Latinxs who Choose to Address their anti-Blackness” was created by several of our members including Hector Adames, Maryam Jernigan, Nayeli Chavez, and Delida Sanchez who are working on an upcoming special issue on AfroLatinxs in the Journal of Latinx Psychology.
Special thanks to Dr. Apryl Alexander, Dr. Lavita Nadkarni, Dr. Lynett Henderson Metzger, and Dr. Jill Holm-Denoma for compiling the information on this webpage