Chalmer Thompson

What Would Our Interactions Look Like If We Were Really Serious About Ending Racism?

At its core, racism is a devastation that exists in societies throughout the world. It prevents people from engaging together humanely, genuinely, not only across but within ancestral groups, and keeps people from developing healthy identities. It thwarts societies from evolving into their potential as socially, economically and politically viable settings in which to live and thrive. Drawing from her work on racialized violence (as distinguished from racial violence), psychologist and professor Chalmer Thompson addresses how scholars and practitioners can perpetuate forms of systemic violence when they fail to attune to sound theory to guide their work. Theory-informed actions that disrupt the manifestations of oppressive forces are frequently disregarded for reasons that are consistent with the features of racism and other oppressive, intersecting forces.

But there is hope. Professor Thompson draws on interdisciplinary sources to demonstrate how a psychology of oppression that is liberation-based --- that is, situated in practices that center on the experiences of those most disenfranchised by the malignancies of racism, sexism, and class exploitation, while simultaneously inclusive of those who see themselves as minimally affected by these forces, holds heuristic value to those who want to see an end to oppression.

Professor Thompson's translation of research into creating more equitable communities free from the oppressive shackles of racism is another excellent example of how IUPUI's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.