Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs

G. S. Hall, the first president of the American Psychological Association (APA), inaugurated the association's meetings in Philadelphia in 1892 by announcing the goals of advancing psychology as a science and a profession and promoting human welfare. Today, the APA boasts 55 divisions that accommodate growing scientific, academic, and professional specializations, including current social, political, and environmental concerns.

At the same time, birthrates among ethnic minorities (e.g., Hispanics) and immigration (e.g., Vietnamese refugees) have continued to grow. The 2000 U.S. Census identified one out of four Americans as being a member of a minority group and projected that in a few decades, minorities will double in size and outstrip the Caucasian majority. As a consequence, academic and scientific interest and political reactions to ethnic minority issues ...