Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs

Established in 1892, the American Psychological Association (APA) is the nation's largest professional and scientific association of psychologists. The Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs (OEMA) contributes to the APA's goal of advancing psychology as a science and a profession. In 2004, the APA had approximately 150,000 members; approximately 5,100 (5.8%) of its associates, members, and fellows and 10,000 (20%) of its student members identify themselves as persons of color. Psychologists of color now occupy 19 seats (11%) in the APA's highest governance body, the Council of Representatives. These and other successes of ethnic minority participation in the APA can be traced in part to the efforts of the OEMA.

Although race and ethnicity have been long-standing subjects of psychological research and discourse, the APA did not begin to examine racial and ethnic inequities within the profession until 1963, when its board of directors appointed an Ad Hoc Committee on Equality of Opportunity in Psychology. By 1978, concern had reached a point that prompted the APA and the National Institute of Mental Health to sponsor a conference of ethnic minority psychologists, “Expanding the Roles of Culturally Diverse People in the Profession of Psychology: The Dulles Conference.” That conference opened up organizational space for the current structures for minority participation by recommending that the APA establish an office, governance board, and division on ethnic minority affairs. Consequently, in January 1979, the OEMA was established. (The recommended board and division were established in 1980 and 1986, respectively.)

Initially, the OEMA was charged with the implementation of the Dulles conference recommendations, but this task was later expanded to its current mission: (1) increasing the scientific understanding of culture and ethnicity in psychology; (2) increasing minority participation in psychological education and training and within the APA; (3) promoting culturally sensitive models for the delivery of psychological services; (4) advocating the interests of ethnic minority psychologists and their communities within and outside the APA; and (5) providing staff support for APA governance groups focused on ethnic minority concerns.

To date, the OEMA has had five directors (Esteban Olmeda, 1979–1983; Lillian Comas-Díaz, 1984–1986; Christine I. Hall, 1987–1989; L. Philip Guzmán, 1990–1993; and Bertha G. Holliday, 1994–present), who have provided leadership for its major achievements: (1) developing a Directory of Ethnic Minority Professionals in Psychology; (2) securing the APA's adoption of guidelines for providers of psychological services to ethnic, linguistic, and culturally diverse populations; (3) launching the Communiqué, a semiannual news journal that provides a voice for ethnic minority issues in psychology; (4) organizing two conferences, “Ethnic Minorities: Issues and Concerns for Psychology Now and in the Future” (1992) and “Psychology and Racism” (1997); (5) administering the Diversity Project 2000 and Beyond, a summer institute for community college students of color; (6) administering the grant funds of the Committee on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology, which provide for innovative minority recruitment, retention, and [Page 344]training strategies; (7) administering the multimilliondollar Minority Biomedical Research Talent in Psychology project, funded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which operates at 14 postsecondary institutions and seeks to increase the participation of minorities in biomedical areas of psychology; (8) staffing the six-member APA delegation to the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa; and (9) establishing an initiative on psychology in minority-serving institutions, which includes a health disparities grant program for early career faculty at these institutions.

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