SRCD Black Caucus History

The SRCD Black Caucus was officially founded at the 1973 Biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development 9SRCD) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time, the group was called Blacks Interested in Child Development Research (BICD).” The eight founding members of BICD were Ura Jean Oyemade, John Dill, Aline Garrett, Joseph Hodges, Graham Matthews, Evelyn Moore, Ido Rice, and Diana Slaughter. BICD was founded at a time when there were few Black American child development scholars whose work was visible in mainstream developmental science and who occupied leadership positions in SRCD. The founding members were motivated by a desire to create a community of social and professional support for Black scholars who often worked in isolation, and to advance a research agenda for Black children, grounded in good developmental science.

By the 1975 SRCD Biennial Meeting, the BICD had compiled a directory of 91 scholars with similar interests and investments in its goals and was renamed the “Black Caucus of the Society for the Research in Child Development.” 

Five objectives were outlined at the Philadelphia (1973) meeting:

1. To provide opportunities for Black people who are interested in research in child development to meet and interact
2. To establish inter-communication networks between Blacks in this area
3. To become acquainted with other groups who have similar interests in Black children
4. To adopt a position on the future relationship of Blacks to SRCD and these other groups
5. To discuss issues of significance for Black researchers and Black children

It was also at that meeting that Caucus leadership met with the SRCD Governing Council for the first time to become better informed about the mission, structure, and function of the organization and establish a greater influence throughout SRCD to advance the Black Caucus mission. In 1977, the late Jean Carew became the first Black Caucus Chairperson. Since that time there have been 24 Black Caucus chairs serving over the years. In late 2017 and early 2018, the Black Caucus, along with the three other caucuses on ethnic-racial issues (Latinx Caucus; Asian Caucus) became formally incorporated into the organizational structure of the SRCD. 

Today the Black Caucus membership has bloomed to over 200 active members. Several Caucus members (e.g., Vonnie C. McLoyd, Harriette McAdoo, Diana Slaughter-Defoe, Diane Hughes, John Ogbu, Sandra Graham, Nancy E. Hill,  and Michael Cunningham) have served on the Governing Council of SRCD. Several other Caucus members have served on the following SRCD Committees: Publications Committee; Committee on Interdisciplinary Affairs; Committee on Child Development and Social Policy; Committee on Ethnic and Racial Issues (formerly the Committee on  Minority Participation); and the Committee for Ethical Conduct in Child Development. 

We have an active professional listserv and ongoing initiatives such as Generational Gems, the SRCD Pre-Conference, and social policy reports.

References

McLloyd, V. C. (2006). Our children too: A history of the first 25 years of the Black Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1973–1997: XI. The role of African American scholars in research on African American children: Historical perspectives and personal reflections. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 71(1), 121–144.