To inspire girls of color to pursue psychology careers, APA's Women's Programs Office partnered with the Cummings Center for the History of Psychology and Psychology's Feminist Voices to showcase the rich contributions of women of color psychologists at its "I Am Psyched — Museum Day Live!" event, held in March at APA headquarters in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution Affiliations Program and the Council on Women and Girls at the White House.
Seventy local girls from seventh to 12th grade met with leading women of color psychologists and toured exhibits showing how Mamie Phipps Clark and other notable women of color psychologists throughout history have used psychology for social change.
Participants also visited the "I Am Psyched" interactive lab to run tests and activities demonstrating such psychological phenomena as change blindness, and a "Mind Games" exhibit to experience the Stroop effect and the Müller-Lyer optical illusion. In the "Brain Room," attendees met a neuropsychologist who offered demonstrations about the brain, and learned how psychologists measured skills and intelligence in the early 1900s in "History Corner."
Nineteen young women of color aided APA in planning and hosting the event — working as docents, greeters, lab assistants and documenting the event on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #IamPsyched.
— Jamie Chamberlin