The damage caused by systemic racism is more than a bruise; it is often a matter of life and death. The question becomes, “how do we promote social justice and healing?” Social justice requires economic structural changes that will be made possible through our diversity, the power of connection, and prioritizing a commitment to our hearts. When I was in high school, an English teacher shared this DH Lawrence poem. His call for repentance is timely today as is the need to free ourselves from the repetition of historical error. This description of pain influenced my decision to become a psychologist.

Healing
I am not a mechanism, an assembly of various sections.
And it is not because the mechanism is working wrongly, that I am ill.
I am ill because of wounds to the soul, to the deep emotional self
and the wounds to the soul take a long, long time, only time can help
and patience, and a certain difficult repentance
long, difficult repentance, realization of life’s mistake, and the freeing oneself
from the endless repetition of the mistake
which mankind at large has chosen to sanctify.

D. H. Lawrence’s poem may aptly be applied to racism. Joshua Aronson, who became a well-known Social Psychologist, is a person I met briefly in one class as an undergraduate student in a course taught by his renowned father. At the time, he did not mention who his father was so that I would share my genuine reactions in class. Avoiding the influence of social desirability, he did not reveal this until the semester was near completion. Dr. Aronson’s research has demonstrated that if a black individual even marks a box about their race on a test, they will often perform more poorly on a task. This bias becomes implicit and not easily recognized. Measuring implicit bias is complicated, and if you’re interested in this topic, follow the link to the controversy surrounding the most widely used measure of implicit bias below.
Further, we know that when a black psychologist evaluates a student on intelligence tests, their scores are statistically higher. This body of research demonstrates both the pervasive and pernicious unspoken impact of our cultural stereotypes on performance. Dr. Aaronson’s studies illustrate how stereotypes influence achievement gaps. The effect of racism on a child’s self-esteem is unspoken, although it will or may handicap abilities and self-efficacy beliefs.
Unrecognized prejudice influences also shape our perceptions. We must regularly check our unspoken stereotypes to discover how these implicit biases about race, religion, or gender (including gender identity) influence our view of the world. We realize that gun violence is a public health issue, and so is racism. Law Enforcement Organizations (LEO) reflect society, and they are the duct tape trying to hold everything together when systems are breaking down. We have learned from police officer shootings that when people are in a heightened emotional state, they miss important information. Multi-tasking is a myth because we shift attention between tasks. Police in moments of perceived threat suffers from tunnel vision. A cell phone camera does not capture these perceptual blinders. So, in an altercation, it is easy to walk by someone who is bleeding. Something that is not right and assault is unlawful.
We need to reimagine policing by recognizing that most departments want those who are qualified in their communities to provide interventions that lessen crime and provide treatment for both substance abuse and mental illness. I volunteer with others in different disciplines as a team to prevent school shootings. Demonizing others does not restore our shared humanity. It is, however, a powerful political tool to unite groups against one another. My experience is that when we are working together as multi-disciplinary teams, or as a consultant or agency independently, we foster understanding and safety. Everyone wants the best outcomes. Organizations like the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals facilitate these conversations and collaborations. I have developed techniques like “suspended disbelief” while engaging in active listening, a de-escalation approach.
We have known since the 1990s that police officers like other minorities have a shorter lifespan. A study in 2013 looking at a cohort of police officers in Buffalo New York noted their life expectancies were almost 22 years less than the general population. This article suggests that stress, obesity, and being exposed to hazardous environments are potentially contributing to these findings. Racism similarly shortens life span and is related to the disproportionate number of COIVD deaths. Many of the individuals that go into law enforcement nobly wish to protect and serve. We screen candidates through psychological assessments, interviews, and background investigations. However, one of the risks in this profession is losing access to one’s feelings of empathy because of compassion fatigue. We see the emotional toll of being on the street in higher divorce rates, substance abuse, and suicides. There is a cost to dealing with the “maddest, baddest and saddest” of society that is evident in police departments and research.

Changes we need in society are not specific to law enforcement only. We are developing more trauma-informed approaches that recognize the harmful nature of prejudice and how to repair the damage. We need “profound hope” that is grounded in a faith that sustains our ability to dream and translate those longing into reality. Despair steals the vibrant colors from life and the illumination from the visions of the night that are our dreams. Dr. King wants us to apply the “law of love.” During the Montgomery Boycott, Dr. King spoke out, stating that if customs or the way of doing things is wrong, then we need to make corrections. In his words, “The decision we must make now is whether we will give our allegiance to outmoded and unjust customs or to the ethical demands of the universe.” In his sermon “Paul’s Letter to American Christians” that can be found in Strength to Love, Dr. King indicates that all of us have a dual citizenry. Thus, he states, “your highest loyalty is to God, and not to the mores or the folkways, the State or the nation, or any man-made institution. If any earthly institution or custom conflicts with God’s will, it is your Christian duty to oppose it. You must never allow the transitory, evanescent demands of man-made institutions to take precedence over the internal demands of the Almighty God.”
We are paying attention at this moment to the black and blue wounds arising from the blows of both racism and prejudice. Around the world, diverse crowds are proclaiming that Black Lives Matter and sparked by the death of George Floyd and the list of so many others. We must recognize that we are part of the solution and that our healing requires repentance and freeing ourselves from repeating the same mistakes. Addressing racism will not be simple. Vanquishing it from our institutions requires so much more than pointing fingers. We need to be emotionally present for each other and to invoke the power of the change that is possible through the “Law of love.” Dr. King tells us that, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/strength-love
https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/psychologys-racism-measuring-tool-isnt-up-to-the-job.html
https://research.steinhardt.nyu.edu/metrocenter/staff/aronson_joshua
https://emotionalsurvival.com/KEEPINGGOOGPEOPLEGOOD.pdf
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15332581003757297 Glenn S. Lipson, James T. Turner & Randy Kasper (2010) A Strategic Approach to Police Interactions Involving Persons with Mental IllnessPages 30-38 | Published online: 04 Jun 2010