STRENGTH IN SOLIDARITY : APA Division 45 [Dr. Kevin Cokley's Presidential Task Force]

We met with Dr. Reiko True to discuss her work on Asian American Psychology and her leadership endeavors in the field.

Reiko Homma True, Ph.D.

Reiko Homma True was born in Niigata, Japan 1933 and Immigrated to the U.S. in 1958.  She completed a social work master’s program at the University of Berkeley and worked for 7 years for Alameda County Mental Health Services. She then completed a doctorate in clinical psychology at California School for Professional Psychology in San Francisco. Her career, which spans nearly 60 years, has been devoted to advancing culturally and linguistically appropriate Asian and minority mental health services. She joined forces with a concerned group of API activists to seek funding and created Asian Community Mental Health Services in Oakland, California, the first of its kind in the country. She joined the National Institute of Mental Health in 1975 and was instrumental in helping to develop a statewide network of Hispanic and Native American communities. After leaving NIMH, she served as the first female and minority director of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services in San Francisco, overseeing a large mental health, substance abuse, and forensic medical and psychiatric service system throughout San Francisco. 

At the time of the Loma Pietà Earthquake in 1989 in San Francisco, she was charged with organizing the citywide disaster mental health assistance initiative. Using her experience with SF disaster assistance, she went to Japan as a Fulbright Scholar in 1996 to help the Japanese victims of the Great Kansai-Awaji Earthquake and to train Japanese mental health professionals on disaster mental health assistance. In 1997, after Dr. Christine Hall, she was elected as the 2nd female president of AAPA. After retiring from the San Francisco Public Health Department, where she worked From 2002 through 2015, she helped create and directed a Master’s Program in Psychology in Tokyo to improve the level of psychological care provided in Japan.

In addition to her public service, she also maintained a private practice counseling clinic in San Francisco Japan Town.

EDUCATION:

-1976. Ph.D. California School of Professional Psychology(CSPP)

-Director, San Francisco Community Mental Health and Substance Abuse

SERVICE:

-Director, Japan Clinical Psychology Master’s Program, CSPP

-Private Practice

-Organized Loma Prieta SF mental health disaster -assistance (1989)

-Japan Kansai Disaster assistance (1997-98)

AREAS OF SPEAKING EXPERTISE & EXPERIENCE :

-Psychology of Asian American women

-Asian American mental health

-Women’s mental health issues

-Trauma treatment; disaster mental health assistance

APA Women in Psychology Timeline

https://www.apa.org/pi/women/iampsyched/timeline

Social Media:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiko_True

https://www.apa.org/monitor/feb06/true

https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/psychologists/true

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dr-reiko-homma-true

https://aapaonline.org/about/executive-committee/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxAYVbO6sYI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnBnZS4TzhI

https://feministvoices.com/profiles/reiko-true

https://nichibeicare.org/about-us/

https://www.facebook.com/psychologysfeministvoices/photos/a.249863925059235/3791047434274182/?type=3

We met with Dr. Art Blume to discuss his work on  Indigenous Psychology and challenging colonial splitting.

Dr. Art Blume is an American Indian psychologist and scholar, and currently Professor of Clinical Psychology at Washington State University. He has been honored with the Trimble and Horvat Award for Distinguished Contributions to Native and Indigenous Psychology, a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association.

He has served as president of American Psychological Association (APA) Division 45 and of the Society of Indian Psychologists, and as a member of the American Psychological Association’s Presidential Task Force on Psychology and Health Equity.

He has been published extensively in the areas of multicultural psychology and addictive behaviors, including 10 sole authored or edited books, including, A new psychology based on community, equality, and care of the Earth: An Indigenous American perspective, which was awarded an American Library Association Choice Award for an Outstanding Academic Title for 2021, and the recently published, Colonialism and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives from Indigenous Psychology.

Dr. Art's Research Lab:

https://labs.wsu.edu/art-blume/

Dr. Art's Book:

https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-W.-Blume/e/B08VFHJJKH%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share?ref=d6k_applink_bb_dls&dplnkId=3b294941-7ed3-4a04-be63-41ab39d4c46e

Dr. Art ( Journal of Indigenous Research)

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/kicjir/vol9/iss2021/8/

***TRIGGER & CONTENT WARNING****

This episode contains material that might be difficult to hear exploring the theme of suicide, which some viewers may find distressing.

***CRISIS SUPPORT***

https://988lifeline.org/talk-to-someone-now/

Dr. Richard Lee

Richard M Lee, PhD is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Distinguished University Teaching Professor in the Department of Psychology and Asian American Studies Program at the University of Minnesota. He is Director of the Asian American Studies Program and Co-Director of the Counseling Psychology Training Program. Dr. Lee is internationally recognized for his contributions to the psychological study of culture, ethnicity, and race with a specific focus on experiences of discrimination, ethnic-racial identity development, acculturation, and socialization of Asian American immigrant, refugee, adopted, and US-born youth and families. Outside of teaching and research, Dr. Lee and his artist brother, Martin Lee, have collaborated on a daily comic - The Other Ones by Lee - giving voice to the experiences of youth and families of color. They recently published a book on the first year of the comic.

Asian American Studies Program Psychology

https://cla.umn.edu/asianamerican

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/richleephd

Martin Lee Cartoonist - The Other Ones by Lee

Martin is the middle of three boys born in the summer of love, 1967. He is a second generation Korean American raised in the suburbs of Connecticut. He presently resides in Pensacola, FL.

Following in the footsteps of his father, Martin had an early start in commercial advertising before returning to school in his late 20s with an emphasis on social justice and education. The majority of Martin’s adult life has been as an early childhood and elementary school teacher. In 2017, Martin retired from teaching, began life as a farmhand, and started focusing more on his art.

In the spring of 2021, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and rise in anti-Asian hate, Martin created a comic character modeled after his younger brother. For the first time in his life, Martin had drawn a character that looked like him.

What followed was the creation of the daily, collaborative comic strip, The Other Ones by Lee, with his brother Rich. It has been a journey of healing, reconciliation, discovery, and growth.

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/theotheronesbylee/?hl=en

Facebook

https://m.facebook.com/theotheronesbylee/

Twitter

https://mobile.twitter.com/OtherOnesbyLee?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Website

https://theotheronesbylee.wordpress.com/

We met with Dr. Kevin Cokley, president of APA’s Division 45, to discuss his presidential theme, which is Fighting Racism with Cross-Racial/Ethnic Solidarity: Toward Being an Accomplice. The Task Force champions solidarity work for ethnic minoritized groups to come together to be accomplices with each other through anti-racist grassroots and community activism.

Dr. Kevin Cokley is  an Oscar and Anne Mauzy Regents Professorship for Educational Research and Development in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Fellow of the University of Texas System and University of Texas Academy of Distinguished Teachers, Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology, Professor of Educational Psychology and African and African Diaspora Studies, and past Director of the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis. Professor of Psychology and Associate Chair for Diversity Initiatives in Psychology at the University of Michigan. His research and teaching can be broadly categorized in the area of African American psychology, with a focus on racial identity and understanding the psychological and environmental factors that impact African American students’ academic achievement. Dr. Cokley studies the psychosocial experiences of African American students and students of color and is currently exploring the impostor phenomenon and its relationship to mental health and academic outcomes. He is the past Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Black Psychology, holds the title of Distinguished Psychologist and received the Scholarship Award from the Association of Black Psychologists. He is President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race, and was elected to Fellow status in the American Psychological Association for his contributions to ethnic minority psychology and counseling psychology. He is the recipient of the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, the Charles and Shirley Thomas Award for mentoring ethnic minority students, and the 10 Rising Stars of the Academy award by Diverse Issues in Higher Education.He is the author of the 2014 book “The Myth of Black Anti-Intellectualism,” which challenges the notion that African American students are anti-intellectual, and editor of the 2021 book “Making Black Lives Matter: Confronting Anti-Black Racism.” 

He has written several Op-Eds in major media outlets on topics such as critical race theory, Blacks’ rational mistrust of police, the aftermath of Ferguson, police and race relations, racism and White supremacy, the importance of ethnic studies, and racial disparities in school discipline. His research has been recognized in media outlets, including the New York Times, USA Today, and Inside Higher Education. 

Dr. Cokley is a proud African American psychologist who embraces a collectivist worldview that places the concerns of the Black collective over individual concerns. He is a tireless defender of Black people and Black culture. His philosophy is illustrated by the Kenyan theologian John Mbiti, “I am because we are and because we are; therefore, I am.” He has an African-centered or Afrocentric worldview that sees people of African descent as central rather than marginal to human civilization.

Social Media : 

www.kevincokley.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Cokley

http://cognella.com/making-black-lives-matter

twitter.com/KevinCokley1 

https://youtube.com/@APAdiv45_Cokley 

Introduction of the Podcast

Welcome to our podcast, “Strength in Solidarity,”  which is part of the American Psychological Association, Division 45, Presidential Task Force that Dr. Kevin Cokley appointed as part of his administrative theme.

Introduction to the Division

Division 45 is the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race and a Division of the American Psychological Association (APA) , which is the major representative body for psychologists who conduct research on ethnic minority concerns or who apply psychological knowledge and techniques to ethnic minority issues. The Division’s purpose is to advance psychology as a science and promote public welfare through research, apply research findings toward addressing ethnic minority issues, and encourage professional relationships among psychologists with these interests. It also represents ethnic minority concerns within the governance of the APA.

Introduction to the Podcast / Hosts: 

Dr. Kevin Cokley’s  Division 45 Presidential Task Force is focused on his presidential theme, which is Fighting Racism with Cross-Racial/Ethnic Solidarity: Toward Being an Accomplice. The Task Force champions solidarity work for ethnic minoritized groups to come together to be accomplices with each other through anti-racist grassroots and community activism.

Our vision for the Podcast and our Task Force : 

The Task Force and by extension the podcast vision is that we exist because we believe that white supremacy is a public health crisis. Therefore, it is our collective responsibility through critical action and reflection to collaborate to construct a liberated future as accomplices of each other by engaging, educating, evaluating, empowering, and elevating the voices of all communities of color.

This podcast is hosted by Pooja Mamidanna and Dr. Donna Demanarig.

Our podcast team includes our podcast interns James Hopper from Wheaton College in Norton, MA, and Alexyz Rios from the University of North Texas in Denton, TX. We also would like to acknowledge our production team David DeVito and Rachel Sheffer.

Here is more information about our Task Force.

Dr. Cokley’s President-Elect Column:

http://division45.org/president-elects-column-s21/

Dr. Cokley’s Task Force Team:

toward-cross-racial-ethnic-solidarity-being-an-accomplice

Here are links to our social media for you to follow as well:

INSTAGRAM:

https://www.instagram.com/apadiv45_presidentialtaskforce/

TWITTER

https://twitter.com/45Divison

YOUTUBE

https://youtube.com/@APAdiv45_Cokley

FACEBOOK:

https://www.facebook.com/Dr-Kevin-Cokleys-APA-Division-45-Presidential-Task-Force-114354464601529

Thank you for following us on our journey. We are excited for you to listen to what we have in store for you.

In Solidarity, 

Pooja Mamidanna ( Task Force Executive Leadership, Podcast Co-Host/Producer and Social Media Branding)

Dr. Donna Demanarig (Co-Chair of Task Force and Podcast Co-Host/Producer)