Realities and Myths of Safety Issues for Community Researchers Working in a Marginalized African American Community

Abstract

Community psychologists often conduct research in collaboration with marginalized communities in which safety is an issue. However, we rarely talk about what specific safety issues we experience and how we deal with them. Our story describes the realities and myths of neighborhood safety that were experienced in a low-income African American neighborhood of Chicago, while collaborating on a project designed to increase access to the Internet to obtain health information. We examine both the challenges experienced and our responses in the context of a community intervention planned, implemented, and evaluated by a partnership team composed of various stakeholders. Critical lessons such as the importance of building on community strengths and the need to be aware of our own biases are discussed.