The Oregon Psychological Association (OPA) stands with the Minnesota Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association, our sister psychological and mental health associations, civil rights organizations, and the people of the United States on the front lines of protest in condemning the racism and hate crimes that have been and are still being committed against Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). Institutional racism and hate crimes are a significant, present problem in our country, and unacceptable in any form. The Declaration of Independence of the United States upholds the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and the Constitution of the United States states that "We the people...establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility....promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity."
Black, Indigenous, People of Color have long been oppressed, maligned, and denied their due rights in this country, and it needs to end. The death of George Floyd is one of countless injustices toward BIPOC that we, as an organization of professionals and as Americans, need to work at every level to change, from individual examination of biases to policy and legal protections at the highest levels in the United States.
We encourage you to use OPA's Advocacy 101 tool to join the efforts to fight institutional racism, hate crimes, and the oppression of BIPOC.
We encourage you to read the Minnesota Psychological Association's Statement on the loss of George Floyd.
We encourage you to read APA’s action plan for addressing inequality.
We recognize that statements without action are hollow, and the OPA is committed to self-examination, evaluation of values, and action to better support our BIPOC community. We will be reviewing our mission and values as an organization at this year’s annual retreat in July, 2020, and we will partner with our BIPOC community members and our diversity committee to better understand and meet the needs of our community.
OPA Members and Colleagues,