From the Editors  

Written by Dominique Thomas, Independent Scholar and Allana Zuckerman, Mesa Community College

Happy New Year! With another year, comes another issue of The Community Psychologist! We’re excited to be taking on our new editorial roles! We first want to thank Susan Wolfe, the previous Editor and current President-Elect for her great work during the last three years! We will continue the work you have done and will keep pushing this publication forward into the future.

The last year has been rough for many of us: a global pandemic, economic hardship, a seemingly eternal election cycle, a historically active hurricane season, and the list continues. There have been moments of hope such as the number of people who took part in the largest mass protest in the last 50-60 years and the number of mutual aid organizations that emerged to meet people’s needs. We saw an open call for action in response to anti-Black violence and racism with hundreds of signatures from SCRA members pledging to push this work forward. Several conferences shifted to a virtual format, in some ways making the events more accessible than if they had been in-person (yet we all miss in-person interactions). Technological innovations abound to address a variety of needs as well as provide new opportunities for creative expression. These moments of hope show that even in the midst of an extraordinarily difficult time, we can build and maintain radically inclusive communities while continuing to challenge hegemonic structures that maintain social inequities. 

In the spirit of hope for the future, we wanted to share some new ideas we wanted to incorporate.

1. Podcast - Each issue we will release an accompanying podcast episode (possibly 2). We will have conversations about the issue, responses to some of our featured articles, and follow-up from previous issues.
2. Real Talk - We are introducing a new column that will discuss how COVID-19 has exacerbated issues already present within higher education. From both our research and practice experiences within higher ed we have observed several trends that are only accelerating due to the pandemic. We think there should be an honest and frank conversation about what this means for the future of community psychology. Real talk, are we on a sinking ship?
3. Reading Circle and Recommended Reading List - To encourage ongoing dialogue with each other about what we are reading and how those readings are influencing our work, we are starting a reading circle and recommended reading list. Each issue we will share 5-6 readings that have influenced our work and provide a space for additional submissions. This is a space for people to share what they are reading so we can get an idea of the different knowledge bases people are exposed to and what is influencing their research and practice. This is also a way for us to share information and knowledge across a variety of topics to showcase and enhance richness of thought within the field.

Dominique and Allana

TCP Editor and TCP Associate Editor