Editor's Note

Abstract

Editor's Note James C. Wadley It has been a significant amount of time since i wrote my last editorial. Within my department at Lincoln University over the past nine months or so, three of my colleagues died. Drs. Szabi Ishtai-Zee, Solomon Caudle and Ms. Rafaela Bermudez were exceptional professionals and dear friends of mine who created spaces and opportunities for our Counseling and Human Services programs. Dr. Ishtai-Zee was one of the faculty founders and contributors to the Master of Human Services program in 1977–2978. Dr. Solomon Caudle was a graduate of the Master of Human Services program years ago and returned to us as an adjunct, visiting professor, and then a tenure track assistant professor. Rafaela (Faye) Bermudez was an adjunct professor in our program and devoted several years of her professional career towards helping our students complete the process to become licensed professional counselors. All three of my colleagues are missed dearly as it has been difficult to fill the huge "shoes" that all of them maintained. Prayers and condolences to the families of these three remarkable professionals. In addition to the loss of my three professional family members, it has been challenging to manage family, life, and professional responsibilities due to COVID-19 restrictions and protocol. The COVID pandemic has influenced several different initiatives that I have been a part of within and outside of my university. Efforts have been time consuming and in some cases, overwhelming. While masks, vaccinations, and isolation helps reduce the likelihood of acquiring the virus, many people still find their lives to be significantly impacted while navigating this potentially debilitative infection. COVID restrictions also impacted ABSC organizational functioning. As a founding member of the Association of Black Sexologists and Clinicians, we managed to have our Spring Roundtable series in the U.S. Virgin Islands (St. Thomas) as well as our International Lecture Series in San Pedro (Belize) using a hybrid format. For those of us who were fortunate [End Page vii] enough to reach each destination, we were able to learn and celebrate each other's contribution to the field of Black sexuality. As you can imagine, it was difficult for all of us to get tested within a certain time period, receive a negative result before airplane boarding, and then travel safely to our destination. Fortunately, the hybrid format allowed many of our members to remain at home or other safe spaces to be a part of the conference. I am grateful for the support, care, and generosity of our sponsors who participated in the events as they were instrumental in helping us increase our attendance through scholarship. Our next ABSC International Lecture Series will be in Montreal, Quebec on October 27–28, 2022. I hope that you can attend so that we have an opportunity to learn more about your work. Over the past year or so, I decided to invite more scholars to serve as guest editors for the JBSR. After several conversations with colleagues and staff of the University of Nebraska Press, I decided to reach out to several notable scholars in the field to help facilitate and lead conversations about Black sexuality and relationships in a more expansive manner. While we (editorial board) have been successful at creating space and opportunities for scholars over the past eight years, it has become increasingly important to create space members of our community to use their own voices and construct JBSR issues that are specifically devoted to their research or clinical best practices. This initiative has been needed for some time and has allowed newer scholars to have their work published. I am grateful for the contributions of Drs. Juan Battle (CUNY), O'Shan Gadsden (Norfolk State University), Karen Sears (Denison University), Kamilah Woodson (Howard University), Jannis Moody (Texas Southern University), and Stacey Brown (University of Connecticut) for their hard work and professional expertise in shedding additional light upon the intersection of race and gender for persons across the African diaspora. The current issue of the JBSR offers us an array of learning opportunities that showcases a robust and diverse perspectives for understanding the sexual and relational experiences of Black folx. As we move towards...