Attending an ABPsi convention is a unique family reunification ritual. For African Americans, the ratification of the 1865 Thirteenth Amendment is cited as the origin of Black Family Reunions. In 2024, I joined two different adopted family members, Trust Manzini (Tsonga) and Dr. Zethu Cataka (Xhosa), in their annual “Going […]
Introduction I walked into my first Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) Convention with nervous feelings. I had been involved with ABPsi for years during my undergraduate studies. I started as an event coordinator, served as the President of my student chapter, and now serve as the Associate Editor for PsychDiscourse. […]
I made the summer of 2026 even more memorable by making the sacrifice and by-passing the only two-day holiday commemorating the end of slavery to attend the 57th conference of the Association of Black Psychologists. Furthermore, there is no more honorable way to seek continuing education units while gaining professional […]
Attending the Association of Black Psychologists’ 57th Annual International Convention at Morgan State University in Baltimore felt different to me this year. The convention theme, “The Illumination: Freeing the African Spirit,” invited us to reflect not only on what we know as psychologists, scholars, students, and healers, but also on […]
While on my return flight from Baltimore to Sacramento, I reflected on this year’s ABPsi conference. From the writing bootcamp to my daily workouts, the liberating libations, and more, I enjoyed the Association of Black Psychologists’ 57th Annual International Convention. This year’s theme, The Illumination: Freeing the African Spirit, loosened […]
While Juneteenth recognizes the end of chattel slavery in the United States, some of our brothers and sisters remain enslaved. They may occupy cell blocks in prisons, seats in classrooms, or rooms in our homes. Regardless of their location, the psychological, physical, and spiritual remnants of slavery prevail. Professionals in […]
May 26th-30th 2026 Imagine a person, a wicked, demonic, hard-hearted person. A person so cruel, so devoid of conscience that the idiom “make evil fair seeming” is an understatement. For the purposes of this writing, we will call this person Satan-incarnate. Imagine that Satan-incarnate locks you in a glass container […]
The South African Zulu philosophy of Ubuntu emphasizes collective thoughts and actions. Ubuntu happens when “I am, because we are” is transformed from a phrase into a therapeutic way of living. When we consider recent tragedies in Virginia and Louisiana, alongside the health disparities impacting Black/African people, the call for […]
In part one of “Being Spirit”, we introduced various contemporary connotations of “spirit” and clarified that within the context of this article, “spirit” is framed as a knowable, incorporeal, sentient, intelligent, divine energy essence from which everything of the visible and invisible realms evolves and through which everything is connected. […]
Intentional individuals and institutions committed to African-centered education play a crucial role in building self-love among Black/African students. When I taught the African-Brazilian martial art of capoeira at an African-centered social justice school in Chicago, the students repeated, “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me! Harambee, harambee, harambee!” […]
