496 Ethnic Minorities
adopted and continues to be implemented within the Associa-
tion’s Division 45, The Society for the Psychological Study
of Ethnic Minority Issues. The establishment of the Society
signaled that the issues and concerns of ethnic minorities
achieved a formal place within the professional organization
for psychologists, beginning to legitimize scholarship of
color as a valid field within psychology (Comas-Diaz, 1990).
Although the division embraced the need to develop an official
ethnic minority psychological journal, this priority was de-
ferred due to financial restraints.
While the American Psychological Association (1993)
developed guidelines for providers of psychological services
to ethnic, linguistic, and culturally diverse populations; the
American Psychiatric Association officially acknowledged
the significance of culture in the fourth edition of itsDiag-
nostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
(Mezzich et al., 1993).
In 1994, John Wiley and Sons founded a new journal,
Cultural Diversity and Mental Health,and asked me to be its
founding editor-in-chief. An interdisciplinary endeavor, the
journal capitalized on the mental health discipline’s recogni-
tion of culture as a pivotal factor in diagnosis, treatment, and
prevention. The journal brought together an impressive edi-
torial board composed of many influential individuals in the
fields of ethnic minority psychology, cultural psychiatry, and
clinical social work.
Up to that time, articles on cultural topics were scattered
throughout the mental health literature, often appearing in
publications focusing on one particular ethnic group. As the
first publication of its kind, Cultural Diversity and Mental
Healthprovided a forum for a wide array of theoretical, clin-
ical, and research articles on cultural diversity. As such, it
promoted a heightened multicultural literacy by offering the
knowledge base and therapeutic tools to access and effec-
tively treat individuals and communities of diverse back-
grounds (Comas-Diaz, Griffith, Pinderhughes, & Wyche,
1995). The Reflections feature, a memoir in which authors
reflected on how culture impacted on their life experiences
and professional development, became very popular.
After 10 years of existence, the Society for the Psycholog-
ical Study of Ethnic Minority Issues was financially secure
and confident enough to establish an official journal. After
much negotiation, John Wiley and Sons transferred the own-
ership ofCultural Diversity and Mental Healthto the Society
as its official scholarly publication in 1998. The move, grace-
fully shepherded by Kelly Franklyn, senior editor at Wiley,
was an overwhelming success. RenamedCultural Diversity
and Ethnic Minority Psychologyin 1999, the journal provided
a forum for promoting cultural competency and psychological
understanding of ethnic minority groups. The journal’s aims
and scope were expanded to embrace a more general view of
ethnic minority psychology. It offered a venue for the dissem-
ination of scholarship in all aspects of ethnic minority psy-
chology, including the psychology of race, diversity, and
multiculturalism—recognizing the sociocultural, historical,
and political embeddedness of psychological theory, research,
and practice. It pledged its focus on the psychological and
societal variables affecting ethnic minority groups such as
American Indian/Alaskan Natives, Asian American/Pacific
Islanders, Black/African Americans, Latina/Latino/Hispanics
within the United States.
The journal affirmed collective identity by strengthening
people of color’s ways of knowing and promulgating their
scholarship through the publication of scholarship of color.
Embracing unity through diversity (the organization’s
motto), the Society’s executive committee appointed associ-
ate and consulting editors reflecting the diversity within
populations of color, in addition to non-ethnic minority psy-
chologists (Comas-Diaz, 1998). The executive committee
also encouraged the journal’s interdisciplinary focus and
asked me to remain as editor-in-chief.
The Society established student editor positions to mentor
and socialize psychologists-in-training into publishing. Work-
ing closely with the associate editors, the student editors em-
bodied the next stage in the journal’s progression. Forging new
passages for young scholars, educators, and clinicians, Cul-
tural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychologybecame one of
the first journals to include students on its editorial board.
In 2000,Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychol-
ogyarrived at its first port. After founding the journal and
serving as its editor for six years, I turned the reins over to Gail
E. Wyatt. Emphasizing the journal’s commitment to scholar-
ship and research, she especially welcomed quantitative
and quantitative research manuscripts. Additionally, Wyatt
appointed a Counsel of Research Elders composed of senior
scholars across diverse fields to write about contemporary
issues that affect the psychology of ethnically diverse popula-
tions (Wyatt, 2001). Wyatt’s arrival signaled the beginning of
a new exciting era for the journal.
Ethnic minority scholarship is providing a prismatic lens
to psychological publishing. As multiculturalism becomes
officially recognized in our society, counter movements such
as faded mosaic (Clausen, 2000), presaging the death of
“American” culture by igniting an ancestral fear of a cultural
Tower of Babel, are beginning to emerge. Since “culture
matters” (Harrison & Huntington, 2000), multiculturalism
becomes the philosopher’s stone in the alchemy of life
(Comas-Diaz, 2000). In its continuing journey, Cultural
Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychologymay become the
beacon of scholarship of color.