Several years ago, I resigned from the American Psychological Association after being a dues-paying member for over a quarter-century. Like others who’ve made this same choice, my resignation reflected an accumulation of both frustration and a sense of alienation. Too often, APA’s leadership seemingly came up short when it was important to challenge government policies and political choices that endangered the dignity and welfare of communities here in the United States and overseas.
But one downside of no longer being an APA member is that I’m ineligible to vote in the election that’s now underway. Because if I could, I’d enthusiastically cast a vote for Dr. Wendi Williams as the APA’s next President-Elect. The world’s largest organization of psychologists — and the voice of U.S. psychology — needs to elect a leader who will not shy away from the fraught uncertainties that lie ahead. And Wendi is that leader.
Let’s not pretend otherwise: if given the opportunity, powerful forces and factions in this country are eager to trample over a wide swath of rights we all count on. And beyond these threats to our freedoms, we also face the prospect of an era where racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of bigotry become ascendant and further institutionalized. In her platform, Wendi notes that risks such as these call upon us to embrace our profession’s insights and science in order to “courageously address inequitable, unfair, and oppressive conditions.” Indeed, this commitment reflects her life’s work as a scholar, educator, and administrator.
In my view, it is this outward gaze — beyond the APA’s frequently insular and guild-oriented priorities — that makes Wendi the ideal candidate for this moment. We give the network of professional associations and other civil society organizations power, privileges, and the public trust. In doing so, we count on them to lead us righteously and to stand up and oppose government and corporate negligence, overreach, and misconduct. To be sure, the APA is far from all-powerful, and its president is only one part of a much larger whole. But leadership and courage can be contagious, and they shouldn’t be underestimated.
In this regard, 40 years ago the distinguished psychologist, APA member, and Peace Corp director Carolyn Payton published an article titled “Who Must Do the Hard Things?” in the APA’s American Psychologist. She warned that an organization’s opposition to involvement in social issues often amounted to support for an unjust status quo. At the end of her essay, Payton offered an answer to her question “Who must do the hard things?”: Those who can. And then she answered a related question, “Who must do the impossible things?”: Those who care.
I know that Dr. Payton’s still-timely message resonates deeply with Wendi Williams today. Learn more about her here, and then please give her your vote!