Reflections as Editor-in-Chief of JBP (2002–2008): The Fourth Editor of the Journal of Black Psychology

My Selection as Editor-in-Chief of the JBP

My selection as the incoming editor for the Journal of Black Psychology occurred by happenstance in 2000, during the third year of my first academic appointment at Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. I became aware of the call for editorship of the JBP at around the same time I had applied for a faculty position in the counseling psychology program at Howard University. A friend and colleague, Dr Jules Harrell, a senior member of the faculty in the Department of Psychology at Howard University, suggested that I consider applying for the position. Furthermore, he presented a convincing argument that it would be most appropriate for the Journal of Black Psychology to be housed at a historically Black college, especially an HBCU of the stature of Howard University. I was in total agreement with this vision and began the process of applying for the editorship.

My selection as only the 4th editor of the Journal of Black Psychology would not have been possible without the support of Jules Harrell, Kathy Burlew, and Albert Roberts. All of these individuals pledged their support and provided the resources that would lead to my successful transition into the role as editor of the JBP. Kathleen Burlew was particularly instrumental in providing the guidance and leadership necessary for my transition. Howard University School of Education fully supported my leadership of the JBP and provided both material and administrative support to facilitate my successful transition into the role of Editor-in-Chief of the JBP.

Initial Challenges and Learning Curve

Taking on the role of editor-in-chief of the Journal of Black Psychology was certainly going to be a daunting task. Obviously, I had questions about whether or not I was ready to rise to the occasion, as I had not had any editorial experience previously. My only experience was as an author who had submitted numerous manuscripts to the JBP and other professional journals in psychology. My first order of business was to get a grasp on how to organize the submission process. I prioritized the task of assembling a robust group of ad hoc reviewers, editorial board members, and associate editors. I recognized immediately that my success would depend on the degree to which I could establish a cadre of competent and highly efficient editorial staff.

When I took over as the editor of the JBP, the editorial process involved paper submissions via USPS mail aka Snail Mail. Once I received a submission, I would identify three to four reviewers and mail out the manuscript for review. This process was not only cumbersome, but also resulted in a substantial lag time for authors to receive a decision. If a reviewer declined to review a manuscript or was delayed in submitting their review, I would have to mail out another manuscript to an alternative reviewer in order to meet the demands of the review process. Needless to say, this process consumed substantial time, energy, and resources. Reducing the turnaround time would be a strategic goal toward increasing the viability of the JBP as an outlet for scholars to submit their manuscript to with confidence that decisions would not be delayed.

Another challenge that I would face as the new editor of the JBP was convincing Black psychologists to submit their best scholarship to the JBP. As I began to informally poll individuals at conferences and professional meetings, I discovered that many had acquiesced to the racism and white supremacy that governs the process of promotion and tenure whereby young scholars receive messages about which publication outlets are acceptable. Many of those I spoke with openly expressed skepticism about whether their committees would recognize scholarship published in the Journal of Black Psychology as worthy of approval by their promotion and tenure committees. This was by far the most disheartening and disappointing realization I experienced as the editor of the JBP. I knew immediately that this would be my biggest challenge—to convince a new generation of Black scholars to support the JBP by submitting high-quality conceptual and empirical manuscripts for review and consideration of publication. This challenge was personal, as I saw firsthand the practical consequences of academic colonization.

Part of the challenge described above related to the lack of academic credentialing that the JBP possessed. For example, the JBP had not been indexed by the ISI, which is a major academic designation for professional journals. Many promotion and tenure committees require scholars to report the impact factors of the journals in which they had published their research. The JBP had not been indexed and therefore could not report an impact factor as part of this process for evaluation for promotion and tenure. This, in fact, was a legitimate concern regarding the importance of being competitive in academic settings. The JBP was not lacking in the quality of scholarship necessary for obtaining an impact factor; there was a conscious decision that the JBP would not acquiesce by publishing manuscripts which did not advance the agenda of the Association of Black Psychologists. In fact, the journal was established because of the displeasure with mainstream psychology journals who often pathologized Black people at every turn. The JBP was focused on publishing conceptual and empirical articles that spoke to psychological phenomena focused on advancing optimal psychology for people of African descent. My job would be to strategically position the JBP to receive an impact factor without compromising these goals.

Accomplishments

Although the challenges encountered in the transition to editor-in-chief of the JBP, as well as during my entire tenure, were numerous and sometimes arduous, I am proud to report that there were many accomplishments that elevated the JBP to new heights. To be clear, Dr Burlew had provided admirable leadership during her tenure as editor-in-chief of the JBP, and it was only in her footsteps that I could build on that legacy. It is my hope that my contributions to the JBP likewise allowed my successor to achieve the many significant accomplishments that were realized under his leadership. The accomplishments of which I am most proud include establishing an editorial advisory board of senior Black scholars, establishing a student editorial advisory board, transitioning the JBP to an online submission portal, and having the JBP receive an impact factor for the very first time in its history. All of this was accomplished without compromising the integrity of the mission of the JBP. In addition, there were several special issues that addressed content areas that had historically been marginalized, including the psychology of Black women and girls, edited by Dr Veronica Thomas (2004) of Howard University.

As noted at the outset of this article, I realized early in my opinion that my success would depend significantly on my ability to surround myself with a very capable editorial staff. A big part of that success was appointing Drs. Kevin Cokley and Madonna Constantine as associate editors for the JBP. Both Dr Cokley and Dr Constantine were significant scholars with very productive publication records. I heavily relied on their guidance and advice in advancing the goals of the JBP. In addition, I established an editorial advisory board comprised of senior Black psychology luminaries including Dr Na'im Akbar, Dr James Jones, Dr Oscar Barbarin, Dr Thomas Parham, Dr Margaret Beale Spencer, Dr Joseph L. White, Dr Robert L. Williams, Dr Nancy Boyd Franklin, Dr A. Wade Boykin, Dr William E. Cross, and Dr Janet E. Helms. These are some of the biggest names in Black psychology and were instrumental in functioning as Sage consultants regarding the direction of the JBP. Finally, I established the student editorial board of the JBP, which was a mechanism by which graduate students could gain practical experience in the editorial process of professional journals—we sought to prepare the next generation of Black psychology scholars to continue the legacy of excellence for the JBP.

By far the most significant accomplishment I achieved during my tenure as the editor of the JBP was to transition from a paper submissions and review process to a fully electronic online submission and review portal. This event streamlined the editorial process and significantly reduced the turnaround time from submission to editorial decision. This was one of the major complaints voiced by authors concerning the JBP—the turnaround time from submission to publication. By taking the journal online, we could now permit authors to submit their manuscripts through the online portal, assign manuscripts to reviewers via the same portal, allow for resubmissions following the editorial process, and submit the final manuscript for publication to Sage to be published in the JBP quarterly. Transitioning the JBP to an online portal system would turn out to be a game-changer toward advancing the goals of the JBP.

Another significant milestone in my tenure as editor of the JBP was having the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) designate an impact factor as an index of how selective the Journal was in publishing high-quality research. The journal impact factor (JIF) is a metric used to evaluate the importance of a journal within its field. It’s calculated based on the average number of citations received by articles published in the journal within a specific time frame. A higher impact factor generally indicates that the journal is more influential and its articles are more frequently cited by other researchers. Once the JBP had received an impact factor, we saw a substantial increase in the number of manuscripts submitted for review and consideration of publication. It was important to note that although the impact factor had become a significant feature in the JBP entering a new realm of academic rigor, it had not changed the tenor of the journal’s commitment to publishing research that advanced the epistemological agenda in Black psychology. The JBP remained committed to publishing theoretical, conceptual, and empirical studies that promoted an African/Black psychology epistemological framework.

The special Issue on the Psychology of Black Women and Girls was an accomplishment that was especially meaningful to me during my tenure as editor of the JBP. Dr Veronica Thomas, professor of educational psychology at Howard University, was the guest editor for the special issue. The actual subheading for the special issue was “Studying the Lives of African-American Girls and Women: Psychological and Sociocultural Perspectives.” In the special issue, Dr Thomas (2004) assembled an all-star cast of seminal authors to present conceptual models and research related to the psychology of Black girls and women. This special issue published nine separate articles on topics germane to the psychology of Black girls and women. Topics ranged from evaluating healthy self-esteem in Black women to obesity in Black girls, to multiple resistance strategies that Black women use to cope with racism and sexism. Heretofore, research on Black girls and women had not been a priority for most professional journals in psychology. I was proud to be able to provide the space for these issues to be interrogated by our best and brightest minds. The special issue has continued to enjoy robust citation activity and remains a hallmark of the JBP’s commitment to the liberation of all Black people.

Summary and Conclusions

The Journal of Black Psychology is a significant and important vehicle for the dissemination of conceptual, theoretical, and empirical knowledge related to the psychology of African descent people. The journal has a long and distinguished history of publishing high-quality scholarship that examines important issues regarding social and cultural influences on behavior, mental health functioning in Black communities, promoting optimal models of Black personality, and countering the deficit-deficient model of personality and behavior in Black populations long promoted by Western psychology. Having had the privilege and honor to serve as the editor of the JBP is one of the highlights of my career. I shall always cherish the trust afforded me by the community and the Association of Black Psychologists to lead this distinguished journal during my 7-year tenure as editor. The journal has continued to evolve under new leadership in ways that could not have been imagined when I first assumed leadership in 2001. The quality of manuscripts has continued to improve and is evident by the most recent impact factor of 5.2. Not only has the impact factor increased significantly, but the subsequent succession of editors remained true to the mission of the JBP.