(BLACK PR WIRE) – New Haven, CT, October 17, 2013 – The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi, www.abpsi.org) and Community Healing Network, Inc. (CHN, www.communityhealingnet.org) announced today that psychologists in more than 20 cities in the United States and around the world will launch Emotional Emancipation Circles in connection with the 6th annual celebration of Community Healing Days, October 18, 19, and 20, 2013.

Emotional Emancipation (EE) Circles are a culturally-grounded, research-based process to help Black people overcome the lie of Black inferiority and the emotional legacies of enslavement and racism. EE Circles are designed to create safe spaces in which Black people can work together to heal from internalized racism and historical trauma. Community Healing Days are an annual celebration designed by CHN to put “time for healing” on the Black community’s agenda and to serve as a catalyst for the creation of year-round healing initiatives. This year’s celebration comes as the October edition of the journal Social Science and Medicine releases the results of an international study finding that children “experience poor mental health, depression, and anxiety” as a result of racism.

The psychologists’ concerted efforts are the outgrowth of a three-year collaboration between CHN and ABPsi. According to Dr. Taasogle Daryl Rowe, president of ABPsi, “too many of our children and too many adults are in emotional distress as a result of the lie of Black inferiority, and we are committed to helping build a worldwide grassroots movement to free our community from it once and for all.”

Enola Aird, president of CHN, said that “the emotional legacies of enslavement and racism make it difficult for the Black community to take the steps necessary to address the pressing problems before it. In order to empower ourselves to overcome the challenges confronting us, Black people everywhere must focus sharply on the goals of emotional emancipation, healing, and wellness.” “Emotional Emancipation Circles,” said Dr. Cheryl Tawede Grills, past-president of ABPsi, “can be an instrument for the liberation of our people’s minds, hearts, and spirits. They can help us be more aware of the past and the present so we can move forward with clarity and conviction.”

Dr. Rowe and Dr. Grills will be leading webinars to help local leaders establish EE Circles.

CHN and ABPsi also issued a reminder of CHN Advisory Board Chair, Dr. Maya Angelou’s call for people to “Wear Sky Blue during Community Healing Days…to show our collective determination to turn the pain of the blues into the sky blue of unlimited possibilities.”