Igniting Collective Freedom: An Integrative Behavioral Model of Acceptance and Commitment towards Black Liberation

Abstract

Racism continues to reveal disastrous effects for the Black community. There exists no behavior analytic literature with a specific focus on ending Black psychological suffering due to continual acts of violence perpetrated against the community. The author presents a behavioral model to promote Black psychological liberation, infusing pre-established frameworks of Black Psychology and cultural healing practices with acceptance and commitment therapy. The model addresses behaviors observed within systemic and internalized racism.

Cultural responsiveness in applied behavior analysis: Research and practice

“…There has been a recent increase in publications on the topics of cultural diversity in ABA (e.g., Beaulieu et al, 2019; Dennison et al, 2019; Fong et al, 2016; Fong et al, 2017; Fong & Tanaka, 2013; Gingles, 2021; Mathur & Rodriguez, 2021; Najdowski et al, 2021; Rosales et al, 2021; Sivaraman, & Fahmie, 2020a, b) including a special issue on diversity and inclusion published by the journal Behavior Analysis in Practice ( BAP ) in 2019 and an emergency issue on racism and police brutality also published through BAP in 2021. This is an encouraging trend given that cultural variables impact behavior in many important ways, and we praise all the researchers and practitioners engaging in this important work.…”

Review of Multiculturalism and Diversity in Applied Behavior Analysis, edited by Conners and Capell

“…Additionally, novel work in this area continues to emerge. There are voices from within the field of behavior analysis (e.g., Cirincione‐Ulezi, 2020; DeFelice & Diller, 2019; Gingles, 2021; Wang et al, 2019; Wright, 2019) and other fields (e.g., Helms, 2020; Sue et al, 2019) that can be useful for readers seeking to further expand their knowledge in the areas of diversity and multiculturalism.…”