Abstract
Greetings JBP readership,
In a recently published content analysis (Cokley et al., 2014), we identified several trends in the Journal of Black Psychology (JBP) including the small number of manuscripts with an African-centered focus. This finding generated much discussion and concern among members of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi). As the official journal of ABPsi, the JBP is marketed as presenting research from Black or Afrocentric perspectives, yet Afrocentric perspectives are rarely represented in articles published in the journal. It is difficult to know with certainty the reasons for the decline in Afrocentric or African-centered articles. From the editorial staff perspective, we have noticed that there are few submissions of African-centered manuscripts which often do not make it through the peer-reviewed process. If the primary identity of a field is reinforced through the pages of its flagship journal, it is not surprising that there would be concern about the paucity of African-centered articles in the JBP. Of course, academic fields are not stagnant. They evolve over time with the advance of new theories, modification of old theories, and the production of cutting edge research.
In the interest of stimulating more submissions of African-centered manuscripts, there was discussion of establishing a second complimentary journal devoted solely to African-centered psychology. Questions about the viability of this potential journal were raised, so it was proposed that creating an African-centered forum in JBP would be a good test to see whether the volume and quality of submissions would warrant establishing a second journal solely devoted to African-centered psychology. Dr. Suzette Speight accepted ABPsi President Daryl Rowe’s invitation to serve as action editor for this forum. After much discussion consensus was reached for the forum to be named “The Hilliard-Jones Forum on African-centered Psychology” in honor of Dr. Asa G. Hilliard, III and Dr. Reginald L. Jones. Dr. Hilliard was a leading Pan-Africanist, educator, historian, and psychologist who was a lifetime teacher of African and African Diaspora history. It has been said that Dr. Hilliard can be considered the founder of the modern African-centered education movement. In an article giving tribute to Dr. Hilliard, Dr. Wade Nobles states “Traditional African wisdom teaches us that when an elder dies, it is like a library burning down. Asa was our library….Not a single day would go by that I and hundreds of other people would receive one or more FYI articles, newspaper clips, student theses, critical essays, personal commentaries, and discussions regarding life, culture, education, and political affairs somewhere in the African world.” (pp. 741-742, Nobles, 2008). Dr. Jones was the publisher and editor of 22 books, 28 videotapes, and 200 articles and presentations that documented the history, theories, and research in the area of Black psychology. What Dr. Jones is especially remembered for is providing a forum for Black psychologists whose writings and scholarship were outside traditional publication venues (Reginald L. Jones: Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training, 2003). In short, Dr. Hilliard was an intellectual giant in African-centered psychology and Dr. Jones gave voice to African-centered scholars when few outlets would. The description of the forum is as follows:
Building on the legacies of scholars Drs. Asa G. Hilliard, III and Reginald L. Jones, and in their honor the Journal of Black Psychology is proud to announce a new recurring forum focused on African-centered psychology. The Hilliard-Jones Forum on African-centered Psychology will promote excellence by highlighting and disseminating outstanding scholarship in African-centered psychology. Scholarship in African-centered psychology is rooted in the unique life experiences, history, values, and traditions of people of African descent. Through the Hilliard- Jones Forum on African-centered Psychology scholars will be provided with a regular platform to showcase their empirical or theoretical work in the field of African-centered psychology. Thus, the Journal of Black Psychology is seeking scholarly submissions which use African-centered psychological theories, constructs, models, measures, and conceptualizations to understand people of African descent for the new Hilliard-Jones Forum on African-centered Psychology.
We envision this forum being included in JBP issues when there are African-centered manuscripts that have gone through peer review and been accepted for publication. Authors interested in having their manuscripts considered for this forum should indicate this in their cover letter. It is anticipated that the Forum will start by the December 2014 issue. We encourage individuals to submit their manuscripts for consideration in this new forum.