Two associations representing historians and psychiatrists have issued statements in recent days apologizing for their past roles in perpetuating racism.

The American Historical Association announced Jan. 27 that it had begun a review to determine its role in spreading racist historical scholarship. In a related move, the American Psychiatric Association on Jan. 18 said it has "begun the process of making amends for both the direct and indirect acts of racism in psychiatry."

"Early psychiatric practices laid the groundwork for the inequities in clinical treatment that have historically limited quality access to psychiatric care for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color)," APA said. "These actions sadly connect with larger social issues, such as race-based discrimination and racial injustice, that have furthered poverty along with other adverse outcomes."

Associations of all types have been reexamining their commitments to diversity and inclusion following last year's Black Lives Matter protests. Many have created new initiatives aimed at increasing diversity in the industries and professions they represent. A few have gone further by acknowledging their own role in creating today's racial divides. The National Association of Realtors issued a statement in November 2020 apologizing for its past role in perpetuating housing discrimination, saying it had been "on the wrong side of history."

APA struck a similar note. Psychiatric practitioners subjected people of African descent and Indigenous people to abusive treatment and experimentation in the name of science, the group said. Those same practitioners then turned to "racialized theories" to justify their own beliefs of superiority.

"Unfortunately, the APA has historically remained silent on these issues," the group said. "As the leading American organization in psychiatric care, the APA recognizes that this inaction has contributed to perpetuation of structural racism that has adversely impacted not just its own BIPOC members, but also psychiatric patients across America."

Historians have also laid the foundations for discrimination, AHA Executive Director Jim Grossman and Director of Research and Publications Sarah Jones Weicksel explained in an op-ed on the association's website. They pointed to past scholarship presented at AHA meetings that erased Black and Indigenous people from historical narratives or even justified their treatment.

"This scholarship is significant. It continues to have an impact, shaping public policy in various contexts," they said. "Many otherwise admirable efforts to address inequality, ranging from mortgage subsidies to social insurance, were influenced by racist thinking about the past or, at best, a blindness to the implications of racism on assumptions and structures. Moreover, narrow, biased, and ideologically driven historical work can cast a long shadow once it is embedded in popular culture."

The association has begun a review of its past actions because "before we figure out where to go, we need to understand where we have been," they said. "The AHA needs to account for the people, practices, events, and policies that brought us to where we are, both as a professional association and as a leading force in the practice of history in the United States."

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