This document provides the keynote address by Dr. Shelly P. Harrell at the Society for Humanistic Psychology conference in 2013. In her address, Dr. Harrell poses a series of questions about whether humanistic psychology is inherently multicultural and inclusive of diverse voices and perspectives. She discusses the importance of love, justice, community, difference, and critical consciousness. The address emphasizes integrating multicultural and social justice perspectives into humanistic psychology through embracing diversity, engaging in self-reflection, and addressing systems of oppression.

1. THROUGH THE EYES
OF LOVE AND JUSTICE:
Revisioning a
MULTICULTURAL
Humanistic Psychology
Shelly P. Harrell, Ph.D., Keynote Address
Society for Humanistic Psychology
Santa Barbara, CA - March 3, 2013

2. GRATITUDE
• David Elkins
• Louis Hoffman
• Theopia Jackson
• My Students
• New Friends

3. “Wake up Everybody”
by John Legend, The Roots, & Common

4. THE QUESTIONS
• Is Humanistic Psychology inherently multicultural? If so, how is
that made credible through explicit discussion and visibility in
theory and practice?
• Does the community of Humanistic Psychology include the
multiple cultural expressions of humanity?
• Does the intellectual and theoretical work of humanistic
psychology include voices that speak to what it means to be
human and the existential dilemmas of our humanness from
diverse cultural traditions?
• Is the practice of Humanistic Psychology relevant to serving the
well-being of the marginalized, disenfranchised, and oppressed?
• In what ways is Humanistic Psychology in substantive dialogue
with those in psychology whose work focuses on diversity and
social justice? (e.g., Divisions 9, 27, 35, 44, 45, 48)
• Do the writings and work of Humanistic Psychology demonstrate
an understanding of systemic oppression, power, and privilege?
• Has Humanistic Psychology been willing to step into the
discomfort of differences and engage in some meaningful self-
evaluation around these issues?

5. On Walking the Talk
“One of the great tragedies of life is that [people] seldom
bridge the gulf between practice and profession, between
doing and saying. A persistent schizophrenia leaves so
many of us tragically divided against ourselves. On the one
hand, we proudly profess certain sublime and noble
principles, but on the other hand, we sadly practice the very
antithesis of these principles. How often are our lives
characterized by a high blood pressure of creeds and an
anemia of deeds!” -Martin Luther King, Jr.

6. OUR HUMAN
ADVENTURE
What more have we to give one
another than our 'truth' about
our human adventure as
honestly and as openly as we
know how?
-Rabbi Saul Rubin

7. THROUGH THE EYES
OF LOVE AND JUSTICE

8. Some of my favorite
“Love” Books
All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks
Strength to Love by Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
Love and Will by Rollo May

9. "When I speak of love … I am speaking
of that force which all of the great
religions have seen as the supreme
unifying principle of life. Love is
somehow the key that unlocks the door
which leads to ultimate reality."
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

10. “Love is the only sane and
satisfactory answer to the
problem of human
existence.”
–Erich Fromm

11. Agape Love
Love of humanity, of all of our sisters and
brothers in the human family
Experiencing and connecting to the “all”
through the uniqueness of the “one”
Deeply feeling the common humanity of
our oneness while honoring the different
cultural expressions and manifestations
of that oneness that makes us whole and
complete

12. Love is….

13. “Love is…” by Common
How beautiful love can be
On the streets love is hard to see
It's a place I got to be
Loving you is loving me
How beautiful love can be
On the streets love is hard to see
Gotta reach that frequency
Loving you is loving me

14. INTERCONNECTEDNESS
&
COMMUNITY

15. The African Ethic of Ubuntu
“I am because we are and because we are I am”.
Every living system (people, animals,
nature) exists in relationship to and
interdependent with every other living
system past, present, and future
We thrive and grow optimally when we are
in relationship
Bishop Desmond Tutu drew upon this
traditional African ethic of “Ubuntu” in his
work on reconciliation in South Africa

16. “My humanity is
bound up in yours,
for we can only be
human together.”
~Bishop Desmond Tutu

17. Nobles’ Extended Self
(African-centered Psychology)
 Nobles’ Extended Self (traditional African
conception of self)
African self-concept centered in “we”
“I am because we are and because we are I
am” (Ubuntu)
“We” includes family, community, culture,
ancestors, descendants, nature, spirit
We are not separate, finite beings and we can
only achieve our fullness through
connectedness and community
Implies the inseparability of the person,
environment, spirit, and nature

18. “There is no better place
to learn the art of loving
than in community.”
~bell hooks

19. What is a community?
 Locality-based Communities – based on geography
 Relational Communities
 People, groups, and organizations whose connections
are based upon commonalities or identification and are
not limited by place or geography
 Four types of relational communities
 Identity community
 Religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation
 Common interest community
 Social or recreational clubs, occupation
 Task-oriented community
 School, workplace, committee
 Collective power structure community
 Labor unions, advocacy groups


20. Some Characteristics of Communities
 Communities are dynamic systems that change
 The value and significance of our community memberships can
vary widely and can change over time and context
 Communities and subcommunities emerge and become
inactive as contexts and needs change
 Communities have identity
 Shaped and maintained by community narratives (stories) that
are shared and passed down
 Communities have intracommunity variability
 Communities are comprised of diverse individuals
 Issues of macrobelonging and microbelonging
 Intersectionality issues
 People within communities have multiple needs and priorities

21. Significance of
Community
 Sarason (1974) – A Psychological Sense of Community
 The loneliness and alienation that emerges from
individualism is the defining problem of many Western
societies
 Loss or dilution of strong community connections is the
most destructive dynamic in people’s lives
 Psychological well-being, quality of life, meaning and purpose,
self-esteem and positive behaviors are strongly related to
having a sense of belongingness, connection, and
identification with something larger than oneself

22. Sense of Community
 Early work of Sarason (1974) and McMillan & Chavis (1986)
 Connection to a larger whole characterized by sharing an emotional
bond or common condition; perception of similarity
 A feeling of belonging, identification, and security in relationship to a
larger group
 Acknowledgement of interdependence, a sense of being “in this
together”, that others “have my back”
 Feeling that members matter to one another and to the group
 Mutuality of Influence; being willing to contribute to the community and
be changed by the community
 Shared faith that members needs will be met through commitment to be
together

23. JUSTICE

24. Stand by Sly and The Family Stone
• Stand
In the end you'll still be you
One that's done all the things you set out to do
Stand
There's a cross for you to bear
Things to go through if you're going anywhere
Stand
For the things you know are right
It s the truth that the truth makes them so uptight
Stand
All the things you want are real
You have you to complete and there is no deal
Stand. stand, stand…Stand. stand, stand…Stand
You've been sitting much too long
There's a permanent crease in your right and wrong
Stand
There's a midget standing tall
And the giant beside him about to fall
Stand. stand, stand…Stand. stand, stand…Stand
They will try to make you crawl
And they know what you're saying makes sense and all
Stand
Don't you know that you are free
Well at least in your mind if you want to be

25. Power and Oppression
 Steven Biko: “The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of
the oppressed.”
 Maulana Karenga (1996): “Power is the ability to define someone’s
else’s reality and get them to believe it as if it were their own.”
 Expressions of Power
 Riger (1993)
 Power Over – control and dominate
 Power To – pursue goals and opportunities
 Power From - resistance
 Satyagraha – Power of truth (Gandhi)
 Principles, active and openly expressed resistance to
oppression that is coupled with appeals to social justice
 Power With- capacity to build groups, bring people together , create
community

26. Revolution begins
with the self,
in the self.”
~Toni Cade Bambara

27. “The struggle has always
been inner, and is played out
in outer terrains. Awareness
of our situation must come
before inner changes, which
in turn comes before changes
in society.” ~Gloria Anzaldua

28. Critical Consciousness &
Sociopolitical Development
 Critical consciousness
The ability to observe, analyze, and reflect upon one’s
own conditions and the conditions of others
Independent thinking that challenges the status quo
 Critical consciousness is necessary to develop
independent thinking in the context of an
oppressive status quo
 Psychological empowerment
 Self-determination
 Independent thinking
 Critical thinking

29. Sociopolitical Development
 The developmental process of awareness and action
related to social asymmetries and inequities in valued
social, political, and economic resources
 Roderick Watts developed a developmental stage
framework to address the psychological process of
internalized oppression. Stages include: Acritical,
Adaptive, Precritical, Critical, and Liberation
 Involvement in social justice and community activism
requires higher stages of sociopolitical development;
speaks to the relationship between psychological
oppression and the maintainence of an oppressive
status quo

30. DIFFERENCE
We are all
AT THE SAME TIME
Like ALL others
Like SOME others
Like NO others
(paraphrased from Murray & Kluckhohn)

31. 5 Ds of Difference
(Harrell, 1990)
• Denial
• Defensiveness
• Distancing
• Devaluing
• Discovery

32. From MLKs “Where do we go from here?”
Now, we got to get this thing right. What is needed
is a realization that power without love is
reckless and abusive, and that love without power is
sentimental and anemic. Power at its
best, power at its best is love implementing the
demands of justice, and justice
at its best is love correcting everything that stands
against love…. I have also decided to stick with love,
for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to
[hu]mankind's problems.
~Martin Luther King, Jr. (1967)

33. “Where is the Love?”by The Black Eyed Peas
What's wrong with the world, mama, People livin' like they ain't got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama,
Only attracted to things that'll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism, But we still got terrorists here livin'
In the USA, the big CIA, The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race,
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate,
And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate,
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight,
Take control of your mind and meditate;
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all

34. People killin', people dyin‘, Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach, And would you turn the other cheek
Father, Father, Father help us, Send some guidance from above
'Cause people got me, got me questionin‘, Where is the love (Love)….
It just ain't the same, always unchanged,
New days are strange, is the world insane
If love and peace are so strong,
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations droppin' bombs, Chemical gasses fillin' lungs of little ones
With ongoin' sufferin' as the youth die young, So ask yourself is the lovin'
really gone
So I could ask myself really what is goin' wrong,
In this world that we livin' in people keep on givin' in
Makin' wrong decisions, only visions of them dividends
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother
A war is goin' on but the reason's undercover
Where is the love?

35. The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug
If you never know truth then you never know love
Where's the love, y'all, come on (I don't know) Where's the truth, y'all, come on (I don't know)
Where's the love, y'all
People killin', people dyin‘, Children hurt and you hear them cryin'
Can you practice what you preach, And would you turn the other cheek
I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder, As I'm gettin' older, y'all, people gets colder
Most of us only care about money makin‘, Selfishness got us followin' our wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media, Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria, Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity,
Whatever happened to the fairness in equality
Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity,
Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' under, That's the reason why sometimes I'm feelin' down
There's no wonder why sometimes I'm feelin' under, Gotta keep my faith alive till love is found
Now ask yourself…Where is the love?
One world, one world (We only got), One world, one world (That's all we got),
One world, one world
And something's wrong with it (Yeah), Something's wrong with it (Yeah)
Something's wrong with the wo-wo-world, yeah
We only got (One world, one world)

36. Love and Justice
“Authentic commitment to social
justice is born out of
love…Enduring social justice
work is sustained by
love…Living social justice is the
highest expression of love.”
Harrell (2013)

37. Despair & Emotional
Expression
• Some of the most heart wrenching expressions of
despair come through the music and poetry of people
from oppressed groups
• African American tradition – “Soul” Music…music that
speaks to, touches the soul
• Speaks to potential role of expressive arts therapies in
therapy

38. Motherless Child by Paul Robeson
Sometimes I feel like a motherless child
A long ways from home
Oh my brother… A long ways from home
Sometimes I feel like I’m almos’ gone
A long ways from home
Oh my brother… A long ways from home

39. “The Message”
by GrandMaster Flash and the Furious Five
Broken glass everywhere
People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don't care
I can't take the smell, I can't take the noise
Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkies in the alley with the baseball bat
I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far
Cause a man with a tow-truck repossessed my car
Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge
I'm trying not to lose my head, ah huh-huh-huh
It’s like a jungle out there it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under

40. Existential Themes?
Implications for Therapy?

41. “I’ll Rise”by Ben Harper
You may write me down in history, With your bitter twisted lies
You may trod me down in the very dirt, And still like the dust I'll rise
Does my happiness upset you
Why are you best with gloom
Cause I laugh like I've got an oil well, Pumpin' in my living room
So you may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes
And I'll rise I'll rise I'll rise
Out of the shacks of history's shame, Up from a past rooted in pain
I'll rise I'll rise I'll rise
Now did you want to see me broken, Bowed head and lowered eyes
Shoulders fallen down like tear drops, Weakened by my soulful cries
Does my confidence upset you, Don't you take it awful hard
Cause I walk like I've got a diamond mine, Breakin up in my front yard
So you may write me down in history, With your bitter twisted lies
You may trod me down in the very dirt, And still like the dust I'll rise
Does my happiness upset you? Why are you beset with gloom?
Cause I laugh like I've got a goldmine, Diggin' up in my living room
•

42. Is there a place for these
stories, this soundtrack in
Humanistic Psychology?

43. Re-Visioning a
MULTICULTURAL
Humanistic Psychology
An Attempt at Integration:
Love, Justice, and Humanistic
Psychology
in Multicultural Context

44. First sentence of APA
Multicultural Guidelines
(APA Policy, 2002)
“All individuals exist in social, political,
historical and economic contexts and
psychologists are increasingly called
upon to understand the influence of
these contexts on individuals’
behavior.”
44

45. Importance of Ecological and
Contextual Variables
 Oppressive and unhealthy contexts can block the natural
human tendency toward optimal growth and
development and present challenges that impede optimal
human functioning and well-being, compromise or
confuse personal and collective identity, and suppress or
misdirect health-promoting behaviors.
Context affects conditions of living and access to
societal resources
Context determines exposure to particular societal,
sociocultural, and community narratives that define
self, acceptable roles, as well as appropriate
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
Context impacts options for support and coping
Context influences opportunities for affirmation and
validation of person and community
45

46. A PsychoEcoCultural Perspective
 The Psychoecocultural perspective
approaches the study of the human mind,
experience, behavior, and transformation as
manifestations of the ongoing interplay
between interconnected psychological,
biological, ecological, and cultural
processes. (Harrell, 2012)

47. Contextualization of the Person
 Emerging from this literature is the theoretical position
that a decontextualized “self” is meaningless; our
existence is meaningful only in relationship (to
others, to community, to culture, to physical settings,
to ecological contexts, to nature, to God)
 Descriptions of human behavior and transformation
must reference the dynamic Person-Culture-
Context complex in order to fully capture the
transactional processes of the person as a living
system embedded in and interdependent with other
persons, as well as multiple cultural and ecological
systems

48. Humanistic-Existential Connections
 “The world…is the natural setting of, and field for, all my thoughts
and all my explicit perceptions…Man is in the world and only in the
world does he know himself.” –Maurice Merleau-Ponty
 “Understanding of one’s existence as such is always an
understanding of the world.” –Martin Heidegger
 “[A] bare subject without a world never ‘is’.” -Martin Heidegger
 “Through the Thou a man becomes I.” –Martin Buber
 “Be that self which one truly is.” -Soren Kierkegaard
48

49. Existential Psychology & Context
Existential Psychology is basically about the
human dilemma of making sense of our own
existence and its finitude while developing the
will to create meaning, live authentically,
manifest our highest potentialities, and fully
experience our lives in the context of the world in
which we live.
An individual’s relationship to the ultimate
concerns of existence is expressed through the
struggle to function optimally within the multiple
human created ecological systems and cultural
influences that create the contexts of our lives.

50. The Existential Paradox
and Related Ideas
• Face finitude and live life fully…Living fully and authentically
as we are dying…facing death and life simultaneously
• Related to the African-centered approach of diunital logic
o Both/and (vs. either/or) thinking and understanding of issues;
approaching a problem holding on to the co-existence of
opposite forces
o Identification of multiple truths in opposing perspectives and
that seemingly conflicting viewpoints can co-exist
• Dialectics- A process involving two seeming opposite or
contradictory energies or elements that acknowledges the
tension between them and seeks to hold and investigate that
tension

51. Dialectical Tensions in
Psychotherapy
• The dialectic of “Acceptance and Change” in
third-wave behavioral therapies (DBT, ACT,
IBCT)
• Dialectical tensions in relationships (identified by
Baxter) include: autonomy-connection,
predictability-novelty, openness-closedness,
inclusion-seclusion, conventionality-uniqueness,
and revelation-concealment

52. “Set Me Free” by Gina Rene
“I know the truth hurts but the pain is
gonna set me free.” –Gina Rene

53. African Existentialism
 African existentialism emphasizes the struggle to express
one’s authentic essence within contexts that actively work
against validation and affirmation of the person and
community.
 Fanon’s writings and Ralph Ellison’s “The Invisible Man”
reflect African existentialism
 According to the scholar Lewis Gordon
African Existentialism is about “The
existential demand for recognizing the
situation or lived-context of Africana people’s
“being-in-the-world”
For people of African descent, existential
questions relate to issues of identity and
liberation in the context of oppression
53

54. Paolo Freire’s Work as a Bridge between
Humanistic Psychology and the
Psychoecocultural Perspective
 Brazilian educator, author of Pedagogy of the Oppressed
 Committed to social injustice centered on illiterate peasants
 Among the influences on his thoughts and writings include
existential philosophy, French personalist Emmanuel Mounier,
Spanish poet and educator Miguel de Unamuno, psychiatrist
Erich Fromm, and activists Che Guevara & Martin Luther King Jr.
 Criticized for the connection of his writings with socialist thought
 Strong influence on Latin American Liberation Psychology
 Referenced in Community Psychology and Multicultural
Psychology
 KEY IDEAS: Humanization, Culture of Silence, Duality of the
Oppressed, LiberatingProblem-posing Education (vs. The
Banking Concept of Education), Critical Consciousness, Critical
Dialogue, Dialogic Action, Praxis
54

55. Freire’s Humanization through Dialogue
 Humanization as the process of relating to others as subjects
capable of knowing affirmation of one’s dignity and worth as a
human being. Dehumanization is the objectification of others as
“things”
 Humanization of both the oppressed and oppressor is required for
liberation and transformation
 Praxis is the methodology of reflection and action
 Dialogue is the humanizing process of learning and knowing
through sharing lived experience; it is the vehicle for
transformation of both the individual and the collective
 Requires mutual trust and is a horizontal relationship grounded in
love, humility and faith; faith in humankind is a requirement for
dialogue
 Alienation and oppression thwart, block, and impair our power as
human beings to create and transform ourselves and the world.
Experiencing oneself as subject vs. object (to be named and acted
upon) can be reborn through dialogue
55

56. Psychoecocultural and Humanistic Perspectives:
Nine Points of Convergence and Extension
1. Primacy on authentic relationship as the pathway to the
development of strong sense of self and optimal growth is
consistent with diverse cultural constructs such as Ubuntu,
Personalismo, Lovingkindness, etc. (Rogers)
2. Ultimate goal of becoming “fully human” reflects an individual level
of analysis. This can be extended to the idea of valuing the full
expression of collective humanity and diversity of humankind
3. Facilitating experiential awareness can be expanded in a
collective context to the idea of critical consciousness (Freire and
Liberation Psychology), which is also about attending more deeply
to what is observed and experienced in the world around us
4. Emphasis on meaning, purpose, and strengths in the context of
suffering; movement from oppression and powerlessness to
meaning, liberation, freedom, and choice (Frankl, May, African
Existentialism)
56

57. 5. The human dilemma of “Being-in-the-World” as a focus of existentially-grounded
work can be broadened to incorporate more attention to “world” processes at
the sociopolitical and institutional levels of analysis (most existential approaches
emphasize the “Being” part)
6. Humanistic approaches have typically taken a less pathologizing view than
other therapeutic orientations, a view that has privileged and honored the client’s
freedom, choice, and self-determination; this implies a more collaborative and
empowering approach consistent with multicultural and community psychology
7. Humanistic perspectives converge with multicultural, feminist, community, and
liberation psychology in actively challenging rigid, symptom-focused,
medical model, cookbook (manualized) approaches
8. Most forms of therapy that have emerged from Humanistic Psychology
emphasize experiential processes such that attunement with and responsiveness
to the needs of the client are primary; this is consistent with the concept of
culturally-syntonic practice
9. The transpersonal view opens space for extending the conception of the person
to include the spiritual dimension of human experience that is so central to
many cultures
57

58. Benefits of the Psychoecocultural and
Humanistic-Existential Integration
 The integration of the psychoecocultural and humanistic-
existential perspectives has the following benefits:
 The concept of “Being-in-the-World” is consistent with
conceptualizing culture and context as central players in
the human condition
 An expansion of focus not only to the development of our
highest individual potentialities but also to our highest
collective potentialities in the context of community and as
citizens of the world.
 Optimal expression of our “humanness” through wellness
processes is more meaningfully pursued and successfully
facilitated when culturally and contextually situated
 Adversity and pain are conceptualized as an inevitable part
of human existence through the experience of “Being in the
World” and provide ongoing opportunities for liberation,
empowerment, and transformation
58

59. Humanistic Concepts through a
Multicultural Lens
 NECESSARY & SUFFICIENT CONDITIONS (“The Soil”)
 UNCONDITIONAL POSITIVE REGARD
 EMPATHY
 FULLY FUNCTIONING HUMAN
 INCONGRUENCE AND CONGRUENCE
 EXPERIENCING
 AUTHENTICITY
 ACTUALIZING TENDENCY
 SELF-ACTUALIZATION
 EXISTENTIAL PARADOX
 EXISTENTIAL GIVENS
 MEANING AND PURPOSE
 FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITY

60. Contextualized
Humanistic
Intervention
(CHI)

61. Contextualized Humanistic
Intervention
An Integrative Multicultural-Humanistic approach
that emphasizes the interconnectedness of
persons, contexts, and culture
thus expanding the base traditions of
Humanistic and Multicultural Psychologies
and their respective families.
Ultimately, CHI is about optimizing the full
expression of our humanity and the diversity of
humankind towards the elevation of our collective
functioning and well-being.
61

62. Three Core Emergent Ideas from
Culture-Centered Psychologies
Three common themes among culture-
centered and indigenous psychologies
1. Concepts of interrelatedness, connectedness,
and oneness
2. Centrality of spirituality
3. Challenge of achieving liberation, positive
identity, and optimal functioning in the context
of multiple threats and blocks embedded in the
conditions of living
62

63. CULTURE
“The superordinate context in which human experience,
functioning, and transformation occur by providing the
fundamental and organizing foundation for interpreting
and living in the world.”
~Wade Nobles
“Culture is learned, expressed, and passed along
through a vast network of shared material, social, and
ideological structures including ideas, values, beliefs,
sensibilities, social roles, language, communication
patterns, physical artifacts, rituals, and symbols.”
~David Matsumoto
63

64. CULTURE IS…
Embedded in our Environmental Contexts
Internalized into our Beliefs, Values, & Thoughts
Expressed through our Choices and Behaviors
 Culture can be demographically-based (e.g., ethnic culture, gay culture)
or experientially-based (e.g., occupational culture, 12-step culture)
 Individuals are exposed to and internalize multiple cultural influences
which intersect in particular ways to create identity
 Culture functions as an organizing and linking process between persons
and contexts, as well as being manifested in the transactions between
them
 The inclusion of culture in the analysis of human experience, behavior,
and transformation facilitates the identification of constructs, methods,
and strategies that enhance the effectiveness of applied work in diverse
cultural contexts
64
The Integrative and Foundational Role of Culture

65. THE QUESTIONS…AGAIN
• Is Humanistic Psychology inherently multicultural? If so, how is
that made credible through explicit discussion and visibility in
theory and practice?
• Does the community of Humanistic Psychology include the
multiple cultural expressions of humanity?
• Does the intellectual and theoretical work of humanistic
psychology include voices that speak to what it means to be
human and the existential dilemmas of our humanness from
diverse cultural traditions?
• Is the practice of Humanistic Psychology relevant to serving the
well-being of the marginalized, disenfranchised, and oppressed?
• In what ways is Humanistic Psychology in substantive dialogue
with those in psychology whose work focuses on diversity and
social justice? (e.g., Divisions 9, 27, 35, 44, 45, 48)
• Do the writings and work of Humanistic Psychology demonstrate
an understanding of systemic oppression, power, and privilege?
• Has Humanistic Psychology been willing to step into the
discomfort of differences and engage in some meaningful self-
evaluation around these issues?

66. My journey of despair
and hope during this
conference….

67. “We Shall Overcome”
by Mahalia Jackson
We shall overcome, we shall overcome,
We shall overcome someday;
Oh, deep in our hearts, we do believe,
We shall overcome someday.
We shall all have peace, We shall all have peace,
We shall all have peace someday;
Oh, deep in our hearts, I do believe,
We shall all have peace one day.
We will all be free, We will all be free,
We will all be free someday;
Oh, deep in our hearts, We do believe,
We shall all be free one day.