ACES Statement in response to anti-BIPOC and LGBTGEQ+ legislation

ACES Statement

 Drafted by the ACES Human Rights and Social Justice Committee under the leadership of Dr. Harvey Peters.

We, the community of professional counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors, must be aware and active in influencing the evolving social, cultural, and political landscape that counters our professional commitment to anti-oppression and anti-racism and harms the communities counselors seek to serve. Within the last two weeks, a new series of bills, bans, and declarations (i.e., bans and restrictions on Critical Race Theory [CRT], the “don’t say gay” bill, and the declaration of pediatric gender-affirming treatment as child abuse) have gained visibility and traction. CRT focuses on addressing racism, white supremacy, and white hegemony through social, structural, and legal systems. These bills and bans target Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Gender Expansive, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTGEQ+) communities, and those who live at the intersections of these communities. These bills and bans are not new. They devalue, decenter, and dehumanize BIPOC and LGBTGEQ+ communities, while attacking their safety, liberation, wellness, and education. Accordingly, professional counselors and counselor educators must act against the harmful impact of these bills on the BIPOC and LGBTGEQ+ communities. Our ethical imperative is to advocate for social justice across the domains of client/student empowerment, client/student advocacy, community collaboration, systems advocacy, collective action, and social/political advocacy.

These political acts of aggression, which are occurring across multiple k-12 and higher education systemic levels, actively limit how race, racism, bias, oppression, identity, and related truths are discussed and taught. These political acts of aggression intend to silence, erase, and suppress BIPOC and LGBTGEQ+ history and experiences within classrooms and, ultimately, the United States. In their intent and effect, these bans are antithetical to our professional imperative to counter oppression in all forms, including the bans’ foci of racism, homophobia, genderism, and their intersections. To meet our imperative roles and responsibilities, professional counselors, counselor educators, and supervisors must seek information on current and historic anti-BIPOC and anti-LGBTGEQ+ legislation and rhetoric. We must be clear about the roles counselors have in disrupting political aggression and harm against these communities. The collective professional action of professional counselors and counselor educators should act to center and protect the biopsychosocial safety, liberation, wellness, and resilience of BIPOC and LGBTGEQ+ communities. Such actions require the inclusion and protection of BIPOC and LGBTGEQ+ knowledge.

Once again, ACES calls on its members to act. Prioritize your personal and professional development related to current and historic anti-BIPOC and anti-LGBTGEQ+ rhetoric and legislation. Continue to recenter your commitment to anti-oppression and anti-racism across counseling practice, teaching, service, and advocacy. Social justice advocacy will serve a vital role for counselor educators and supervisors in addressing these bans, bills, and decelerations’ impact on our anti-oppressive and anti-racist teaching and supervision. Such issues include teaching multicultural and social justice content consistent with our ethical, professional, and accreditation standards and serving as gatekeepers to the profession and the profession’s values. Moreover, these political acts of aggression limit our ability to support developing counselors in providing life-saving, anti-racist and anti-oppressive, and liberatory counseling services with students, clients, and community members, thereby furthering an environment of oppression and harm. Last, these political acts of aggression suppress our academic freedom and responsibilities to teach courses, conduct research, and facilitate necessary and long overdue conversations around racism, homophobia, genderism, and all forms of violence and structural oppression. Below, members can find resources that can support the continued learning and action strategies to better serve and advocate with and on behalf of BIPOC and LGBTGEQ+ persons and communities. With that, we encourage ACES members to engage with the materials and develop additional acts of disruptions across the domains of counseling practice, teaching, service, and advocacy.

CRT Resources:

  • CRT Map: Efforts to restrict teaching racism and bias have multiplied across the U.S.

https://www.chalkbeat.org/22525983/map-critical-race-theory-legislation-teaching-racism

  • The Theory of Change Podcast

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Critical Race Theory on Education and Mental Health (March 27, 2019). 
https://theoryofchange.libsyn.com/the-revolution-will-not-be-televised-critical-race-theory-on-education-and-metal-health
In this episode Dr. David Stovall discusses Critical Race Theory, important for understanding the historical context of social stratification in our society. A Professor of African-American studies as well as Criminology, Law, and Justice at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Dr. Stovall studies the influence of race in urban education, community development, and housing. He is the author ofBorn Out of Struggle: Critical Race Theory, School Creation, and the Politics of Interruption.

  • Anti-Racism Resources for Teaching and Learning from the University of Colorado, Boulder

https://guides-lawlibrary.colorado.edu/c.php?g=1063847&p=7737728
This site features a list of relevant podcasts.

  • Child Advocates Podcast

What’s the truth about critical race theory? Hear from a Professor with Firsthand Knowledge/Podcast Episode 3 (August 11, 2021)
https://www.childadvocates.net/whats-the-truth-about-critical-race-theory-hear-from-a-professor-with-firsthand-knowledge-podcast-episode-3/

  • At Liberty Podcast from the ACLU

https://www.aclu.org/podcast
Episode: Kimberle Crenshaw on Teaching the Truth about Race in America
https://www.aclu.org/podcast/kimberle-crenshaw-teaching-truth-about-race-america-ep-168

  • Teaching While White podcast

https://www.teachingwhilewhite.org/podcast
Teaching While White (TWW) seeks to move the conversation forward on how to be consciously, intentionally, anti-racist in the classroom. Because “white” does not mean a blank slate. It is a set of assumptions that is the baseline from which everything is judged; it is what passes for normal. TWW wants to have conversations about those assumptions: what they are, how they impact our students, and how we can confront our bias to promote racial literacy.

  • Code Switch podcast from NPR

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch
Shereen Marisol Meraji and Gene Demby explore how issues of race and identity manifest in every corner of American culture, from music to poetry to sports. Meraji and Demby welcome guests for well-informed discussions about everything from how Puerto Ricans identify ethnically to why some people are suspicious of the U.S. Census. The podcast also features reported stories produced by the Code Switch team that air on NPR.

  • 1619: A podcast from The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/podcasts/1619-podcast.html
“1619” is a New York Times audio series, hosted by Nikole Hannah-Jones, that examines the long shadow of American slavery.

  • Yo, Is This Racist? Podcast

https://open.spotify.com/show/2gEWfoxSLkeHE2ETZBkFL3
Actress and musician Tawny Newsome, writer Andrew Ti, and a weekly guest provide funny-yet-thoughtful responses to voicemails from people wondering whether a given situation is racist.

Academic article about this podcast: Rosino, M.L. (2014). Podcast review: Yo, is this racist? Racial discourse and comedic articulations of systemic racism.Humanity & Society, 38(4), 480-482. https://doi.org/10.1177/0160597614554060

  • Come Through with Rebecca Carroll podcast

https://www.npr.org/podcasts/828018169/come-through-with-rebecca-carroll
Culture writer, editor, and producer Rebecca Carroll sits down with high-profile guests for in-depth chats in the vein of NPR’s Fresh Air—but with a focus on race. Past guests include CNN anchor Don Lemon and White Fragility author Robin DiAngelo.

  • Seeing White podcast

https://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/
“White folks may feel like we’re being stabbed a little bit when our whiteness is mentioned, because for the most part, we get to go through life imagining that race is something other people have,” says host and producer John Biewen inone episode of his Seeing White program for Scene on Radio. Biewen’s 14-part series is a primer on the history of whiteness in America, sharing lesser-known events that will inspire white listeners to see their own place in society with fresh eyes.

  • Asian Enough podcast from the L.A. Times

https://open.spotify.com/show/1VHaUWtap7fCvZy7KuSGLj
Hosts Jen Yamato and Frank Shyong interview fellow Asian-Americans in this L.A. Times podcast centered around the questions, “Am I Asian enough? Am I American enough?” Guests include actor John Cho, civil rights attorney Rabia Chaudry, and Sung Kang (aka Han from the Fast and Furious franchise).

  • Identity Politics podcast

http://identitypoliticspod.com
Ikhlas Saleem and Makkah Ali invite guests to share their thoughts on race, culture, gender, and faith, explored through the lens of being a Black Muslim woman.

  • Pod Save the People with DeRay podcast

https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-the-people/
Each episode features an interview between organizer and activist DeRay Mckesson and a guest, and cohosts Brittany Packnett Cunningham, Sam Sinyangwe, and Dr. Clint Smith take a closer look at the week’s biggest stories—as well as issues that particularly impact people of color.

  • Still Processing podcast from the New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/column/still-processing-podcast
With hosts Wesley Morris and Jenna Wortham in a show about culture.

  • Tamarindo podcast

https://www.tamarindopodcast.com/
Each week on the podcast, which brings a Latinx perspective to current events and culture, hosts Brenda Gonzalez and Ana Sheila Victorino have insightful conversations on race, gender, representation and life.

  • The Stoop podcast

http://www.thestoop.org/
A podcast about blackness, race, and identity in the United States, hosted by Leila Day and Hana Baba – “stories from across the Black diaspora.”

  • Podcast recommendations from Harvard University’s list of Anti-Racism Resources

https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/antiracismresources/allies/podcasts

  • William & Mary School of Education

What is Critical Race Theory? Resources for Educators
https://education.wm.edu/news/news-archive/2021/what-is-critical-race-theory-resources-for-educators.php

  • Journey to Justice: A Critical Race Theory Primer

https://www.msintheclassroom.com/critical-race-theory-primer/
https://www.msintheclassroom.com/wp-content/uploads/Annotated-Bibliography.docx.pdf
A collaboration between Ms. Magazine, National Women’s Studies Association, and the Karson Institute for Race, Peace, & Social Justice at the Loyola University Maryland that includes articles, essays, lesson plans, an annotated bibliography that addresses and examines teaching critical race theory from kindergarten to college settings

  • PBS: Virtual Professional Learning Series

Tools for Anti-Racist Teaching
https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/tools-for-anti-racist-teaching/
This eight-part series investigates the ways in which racism, mental health, history, and education intersect. Presents tools to deepen understanding, turn knowledge into action, and create immediate, positive change in the fight against anti-Black racism in education.

  • Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture

Talking About Race
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/resources
Topics and resources related to Smithsonian initiative, “Let’s Talk! Teaching Race in the Classroom.”

  • Smithsonian magazine

Smithsonian scholars recommend books, films, and podcasts about race
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/smithsonian-scholars-and-researchers-share-works-shed-light-history-us-racism-180975063/

  • Smithsonian magazine

Twelve books to help children understand race, anti-racism, and protest
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/twelve-books-to-help-children-understand-race-antiracism-and-protest-180975067/

  • Jstor Daily

Institutionalized Racism: A Syllabus
https://daily.jstor.org/institutionalized-racism-a-syllabus/?fbclid=IwAR3UzeMAcrywDVjNmkqoXugUuePsYWEJnokRJrxw6uI0Ub6Q24fxK4A9igM

  • Sociologists for Justice

Ferguson Syllabus
http://sociologistsforjustice.org/ferguson-syllabus/?utm_content=buffer896af&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

  • Baltimore Syllabus

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B_oyOyu_tAwOVq5MY1oJL3orN6ps04O82JxWxnkGpho/edit

CRT Professional Resources:

  •  Annamma, S. A., Ferri, B. A., & Connor, D. J. (2018). Disability critical race theory: Exploring the intersectional lineage, emergence, and potential futures of DisCrit in education. Review of Research in Education, 42(1), 46-71. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X18759041
  • Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2001). Critical race theory: An introduction. New York University Press.
  • Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2017). Critical race theory: An introduction(Third ed.). New York University Press.
  • Haskins, N. H., & Singh, A. (2015). Critical Race Theory and counselor education pedagogy: Creating equitable training. Counselor Education and Supervision, 54(4), 288-301. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12027
  •  Liou, D. D., & Alvara, R. (2021). Anti-critical race theory movement in postsecondary education: Faculty expectations confronting emotionalities of whiteness. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies, 2(4), 77-98. DOI:https://dx.doi.org/10.52547/johepal.2.4.77
  • McGee, E. O., & Stovall, D. (2015). Reimagining critical race theory in education: Mental health, healing, and the pathway to liberatory praxis.Educational Theory, 65(5), 491-511. https://doi.org/10.1111/edth.12129
  • Morgan, H. (2022). Resisting the movement to ban critical race theory from schools. The Clearing House, 95(1), 35-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.2021.2025023
  •  Trahan Jr, D. P., & Lemberger, M. E. (2014). Critical race theory as a decisional framework for the ethical counseling of African American clients. Counseling and Values, 59(1), 112-124.https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-007X.2014.00045.x
  • Rolón-Dow, R., & Davison, A. (2021). Theorizing racial microaffirmations: A critical Race/LatCrit approach. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 24(2), 245-261. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2020.1798381
  • Shillingford, M. A., Ngazimbi, E.,  & Patel, S. (2022). Defining professional support by counselor education faculty of color using Ciritcal Race Theory. Counselor Education and Supervision. https://doi.org/10.1002/ceas.12226
  • Singh, A. A., Appling, B., & Trepal, H. (2020). Using the multicultural and social justice counseling competencies to decolonize counseling practice: The important roles of theory, power, and action. Journal of Counseling and Development, 98(3), 261-271.https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12321
  • Yao, C. W., George Mwangi, C. A., & Malaney Brown, V. K. (2019). Exploring the intersection of transnationalism and critical race theory: A
  • Critical Race analysis of international student experiences in the united states. Race, Ethnicity and Education, 22(1), 38-58.https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2018.1497968
  • Yoo, H. C., Gabriel, A. K., & Okazaki, S. (2021). Advancing research within Asian American psychology using Asian Critical Race Theory and an Asian Americanist perspective. The Journal of Humanistic Psychology,, 2216782110627. https://doi.org/10.1177/00221678211062721

LGBTGEQ+ Resources: 

LGBTGEQ+ Professional Resources: 

  • ALGBTIC LGBQQIA Competencies Taskforce, Harper, A., Finnerty, P., Martinez, M., Brace, A., Crethar, H. C., Loos, B., Harper, B., Graham, S., Singh, A., Kocet, M., Travis, L., Lambert, S., Burnes, T., Dickey, L. M., & Hammer, T. R. (2013). Association for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in counseling competencies for counseling with lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, questioning, intersex, and ally individuals: Approved by the ALGBTIC board on june 22, 2012. Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 7(1), 2-43. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538605.2013.755444
  •   American Psychological Association, APA Task Force on Psychological Practice with Sexual Minority Persons. (2021). Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Sexual Minority Persons. Retrieved from www.apa.org/about/policy/psychological-practice-sexual-minority-persons.pdf.
  • Beck, M. J., Rausch, M. A., Wikoff, H. D., & Gallo, L. L. (2018). Ecological considerations and school counselor advocacy with LGBT students.Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy, 5(1), 45-55.https://doi.org/10.1080/2326716X.2017.1402393
  •   Cervini, E., 1992. (2020). The deviant’s war: The homosexual vs. the united states of america (First ed.). Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
  • Greene-Rooks, J. H., Schuermann, H., Pearce, J., Khan, S., & Dunlap, C. (2021). LGBTQ clients and adverse laws: Mental health concerns and advocacy suggestions.Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling, 15(3), 329-349. https://doi.org/10.1080/15538605.2021.1914276
  • Grzanka, P. R., Spengler, E. S., Miles, J. R., Frantell, K. A., & DeVore, E. N. (2020). “Sincerely held principles” or prejudice? the tennessee counseling discrimination law.The Counseling Psychologist, 48(2), 223-248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019886972
  • Rosky, C. (2017). anti-gay curriculum laws. Columbia Law Review, 117(6), 1461-1541. https://columbialawreview.org/content/anti-gay-curriculum-laws/
  •   Smith, L. C., & Okech, J. E. A. (2016). Ethical issues raised by CACREP accreditation of programs within institutions that disaffirm or disallow diverse sexual orientations.Journal of Counseling and Development, 94(3), 252-264. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12082
  • Troutman, O., & Packer-Williams, C. (2014). Moving beyond CACREP standards: Training counselors to work competently with LGBT clients.The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 6(1)https://doi.org/10.7729/51.1088