Presidential Message

Anthony P. Young, Psy.D. — Founding Member and President

I periodically re-articulate motivations for membership and service to the Denver-Rocky Mountain Association of Black Psychologists (D-RMABPsi). As we near the completion our 45rd year as a chapter of the international ABPsi the time is right to list some of the motives for belonging to the ABPsi.

First is the question of our debt. We each have a debt to the members of the ABPsi and the Black Student’s Psychological Association (BSPA) who founded the ABPsi and who used old-fashion activism to force open the doors to graduate training programs.  I know that I was qualified to enter the University of Denver and earn a Psy.D.  However, many others were qualified before me, but the door of opportunity was closed to many of them.  It was the Black Action Movement struggle throughout the USA that made it possible for qualified people of African descent to become trained psychologists.  The founders of the ABPsi and activists within the BSPA made firm, clear, and urgent demands so that universities across this country began accepting people of African descent. Anyone who received his or her doctorate degree in Psychology after about 1970 carries this debt.

Another sense of debt is owed to the broader African American community.  We would still be riding in the back of the bus were it not for the courage of Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., and countless others who fought for our civil and human rights.  Those of us who have benefited from that struggle must continue this legacy of struggle and of “beating the odds against the odds”. The struggle within the profession must continue to be waged on many fronts, especially within predominantly White schools and professional associations, but its strategic plan can only be developed within an authentic  African centered context, and that context is the ABPsi.

My involvement with the ABPsi also motivated for personal and selfish reasons as I have enjoyed tremendous opportunities to develop keen leadership, clinical, community,  and organizational skills, as well as being mentored and trained by some of the most talented, skilled, and compassionate psychologists on the planet.  The ABPsi provides a unique arena to develop and display your skills.  The D-RMABpsi has accomplished much over nearly 45 years, yet there remains much work to do to ensure that more skilled, community-minded, African- centered, “woke” Psychologists (and allied professionals) are available and committed to serving our community.

Community Forums, Symposiums, & Training Activities

Recent Community Forum

Trust Issues Pertaining to the COVID-19 Vaccination
Without a doubt, our world and sense of normalcy has drastically changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people of African descent hold mistrust of the government and medical profession due to America’s infamous history of involuntary medical experimentation, medical apartheid, and ongoing systemic health inequities.  The Denver-Rocky Mountain Association of Black Psychologists invites you to engage in a critical community discussion on trust issues pertaining to the COVID-19 vaccination. Expert panelists will provide differing perspectives and information to encourage participants to conduct their own due diligence in reaching their vaccination decision.

Conducted 2-4:00 pm, January 16, 2021
Click to access Forum recording

Prior Forums, Symposiums, & Training Activities

  • Staying Physically and Mentally Healthy During the COVID-19 Pandemic    –  2020
  • Professional Development Symposium: Enhancing the Emotional Well-being of Families – 2018
  • Strategies for Coping with Being Terrorized in the African American Community Series of 3 Community Forums– 2014
  • Professional Development Symposium: Enhancing the Emotional Well-being of Families of Color: Re-entry of Incarcerated Individuals, Male-Female Relationships, Immigrant Integration, and Children’s Mental Health – 2011
  • Professional Development Symposiums: Enhancing Healing and Wellness in the Black Community –  April and October 2005
  • Enhancing Romantic Relationships Seminar  featuring Dr. Paris Finner-Williams & Robert Williams, MSW.ACSW – 2003
  • Host of the 33rd National Convention of the Association of Black Psychologists (Hyatt Hotel) – 2001
  • Host of the 24th National Convention of the Association of Black Psychologists (Red Lion Hotel) – 1992
  •   Black Youth at Risk: The Challenge – Spring Conference (Richard Allen Center; Shorter AME Church) –  1990  
  • Presentation by Dr. Adelbert Jenkins: Psychotherapy with Minorities: A Humanistic View (Cherry Creek Inn- Denver) held in conjunction with the Colorado Psychological Association  – 1989      
  • Multi-Faceted Dimensions of Black Adolescents: Identity and Competence (Univ. of Denver Driscoll Center) – 1989
  • A View from Psychology presentation by the D-RMABPsi Task Force on Gang Violence at the summer conference of the Colorado Psychological Association – 1989
  • Crisis in Education: Healing the Wounds – Fall Experiential Workshop  (Colorado Springs Sheraton Hotel) – 1987
  • Individual Psychotherapy with the Black Client: An Experiential Workshop (Univ. of Denver Driscoll Center)  – 1986  
  • The Black Family: Crisis and Survival Conference (Colorado Mental Health Institute-Fort Logan)  –  1985
  • Child Abuse and the Black Family Conference (Embassy Suites – Denver)  – 1984
  • 2nd Minority Graduate Student Recruitment Conference (Metro State College-Denver) -1981
  • Host of the 13th National Convention of the Association of Black Psychologists (Regency Hotel)  –  1981
  • 1st Minority Graduate Student Recruitment Conference (Univ. of Denver)  –  1980   
  • Host of the Western Regional Conference of the Association of Black Psychologists – 1980