The Black Lives Matter movement has again drawn national attention to African Americans subjected to violence by white perpetrators, vigilantes, and police officers. While the current sociopolitical climate has fueled the divisiveness in the U.S., racism has been present since the time of slavery, with unconscious attitudes, conscious biases, and systemic social contributions. This study group will explore these issues in the community and treatment settings. The group will consider 2 contemporary bestsellers, The New Jim Crow and White Fragility; the documentary film Black Psychoanalysts Speak; and a variety of psychoanalytic journal articles that examine racism and its roots. The study group will consist of 3 parts: Part I about White privilege and fragility, as well as the dynamics of prejudice and racism; Part II about the legacy of slavery and African-American trauma; and Part III about how these issues may unfold in psychoanalytic treatment and supervision. Separate registration is required for each Part of the series, and enrollment is limited. Journal articles will be emailed to participants.

DiAngelo, R. (2018). White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About-----Racism. Boston: Beacon.

Parker, R. (2019). Slavery in the White psyche. Psychoanalytic Social Work, 26: 84-103.

Altman, N. (2006). Whiteness. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 75: 45-72. 

Straker, G. (2004). Race for cover: Castrated whiteness, perverse consequences. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 14: 405-422.

Layton, L. (2006). Racial identities, racial enactments, and normative unconscious processes. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 75: 237-269.

Moss, D. (2001). On hating in the first person plural: Thinking psychoanalytically about racism, homophobia, and misogyny. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 49: 1315-1334.

Dalal, F. (2006). Racism: Processes of detachment, dehumanization, and hatred. Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 75: 131-161.

JoAnn Ponder, PhD is a psychologist-psychoanalyst who has a private practice in Austin treating culturally and racially diverse individuals, couples, and families. She completed training in adult psychoanalysis at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies in Houston, where she currently serves on the faculty. In 2016, she put together a panel for Austin Psychoanalytic and presented a paper about the legacy of school desegregation. The program was open to the community and presented in the auditorium at a public library in historically Black east Austin. That same year, JoAnn presented a paper about racism in society and clinical practice as part of a panel at the national Division 39 Spring Meeting.

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This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American Psychoanalytic Association, Center for Psychoanalytic Studies, and Houston Psychoanalytic Society. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 6 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters of this CME program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.