Editorial.

Abstract

It is impossible to write this editorial without recognizing that we are living in challenging times. Unprecedented changes in how, when, where, and with whom we work have occurred in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the threat to human life, the pandemic is expected to increase poverty and deepen preexisting inequalities for vulnerable groups such as women (United Nations, 2020) and individuals living in poorer countries (United Nations Development Programme, 2020). In the United States, the pandemic has disproportionately negatively affected racial and ethnic minority group members (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/health-equity/race-ethnicity.html). For example, in the United States infection and mortality rates are especially high among African Americans (Yancy, 2020). These sobering realities, along with the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, and so many others, are vivid and wrenching reminders of longstanding social injustice and systematic racism, both in the United States and around the globe. When preparing my candidate statement and vision for the journal, a global pandemic and widespread social protest were the furthest thing from my mind. However, several aspects of my vision for JAP are highly relevant to the current context. This includes increasing representation and supporting diversity, as well as improving the translation of our science for the public good. Other elements of my vision for the journal include enhancing the review process and promoting open science. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).