How Do Peace Psychologists Address the Violent Assaults on Black People's Lives? A Review of Studies Published in the Peace and Conflict Journal

摘要

Racism originated in violence for people of Africa descent and continues to evolve over time and across contexts (Nicolas & Thompson, 2019; United Nations, 2014a, 2014b, 2014c, 2015). In view of its intractability, we asked: "Among studies in peace psychology that involve participants of African descent, how prevalent are examinations of the racialized violence exacted on these samples?" "What knowledge can we derive from these racism-informed examinations to inform our understanding of the participants' lives, processes of conflict and peace, and the work of peace educators?" To respond to these questions, we reviewed articles published in the Peace and Conflict journal over a period of 10 years. Empirical articles were selected that included African-descended people as participants or, in one case, as targets of other people's perceptions. After identifying a total of 62 articles that met our criteria, we read each one to determine if or how racism or colonialist themes were included as aspects of the researchers' examinations. The majority of the reviewed studies included no mention of these racial related factors. Many of these published works in which the researchers incorporated examinations of racialized violence provided minimal or moderate attention to them, primarily by noting historical factors about participants' experiences, while 15 of the studies included extensive coverage of racism and colonialist forces that had bearing on multiple aspects of the inquiry process. We conclude the article with a discussion of how more investigations that incorporate manifestations of racism as facets of Black people's local and global realities can (further) add to peace education practices.