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Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis draws upon ‘real story’ to lead American Psychological Association

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis is the second African-American woman to lead the APA. The gavel was passed to her from Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, who holds the distinction of being the first African-American woman to lead the association.

Published

7 years ago

March 30, 2019

Oakland Post

By Dr. Sybil C. Mitchell, Special to The New Tri-State Defender

It’s not that Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis (formerly Bingham) feels she doesn’t appreciate news outlets all over the nation writing about her life and work. It’s just that that everyone keeps missing the real story.

So what is the real story?

“The real story is that I am a product of the public school system,” says Davis, who serves as the 2019 president of the American Psychological Association (APA). “I attended public schools and graduated from high school equipped and prepared to pursue higher learning.

“I appreciate all the coverage – an African-American woman leading the nation’s premiere organization of psychology professionals. That, certainly, is noteworthy. But the real story is that I am a product of public schools.”

Davis is a proud Manassas High School graduate – one of those “I bleed blue and gold” Manassas Tigers.

She is the second African-American woman to lead the APA. The gavel was passed to her from Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, who holds the distinction of being the first African-American woman to lead the association.

For Davis, hard work, resilience and determination are hallmarks of her career. Several aspects of her childhood and personal life are intriguing and worthy, to be sure, of a closer look.

Dr. Davis is 69. She is thankful to be 69 and has never been ashamed of her age.
“There were 12 of us, and I was in the middle. Two boys and two girls who were older and one younger brother have all passed away. As I approach the age when they were passing away, it just makes me more thankful to still be here,” she said.
And then, there was the name change – from Bingham to Davis. Actually, she has been “Mrs. Davis” all along.

“I am not any relation to anyone named ‘Bingham.’ I was married briefly, for four years, when I was just starting out in my career. I had been publishing under “Bingham,” and I just thought it would be wise to keep that as my professional name. I was young, and I just didn’t know.

“After I left the University of Memphis post as vice president of Student Affairs, I just thought I would go ahead and change my name to Davis. So now, everybody in the house is named ‘Davis.’”

When Rosie Phillips was born, the family lived on Fallback Plantation. “Fallback” was one word as she remembers it – a curious name for a plantation, she admits. Her father was a sharecropper, and her grandparents were sharecroppers as well, all working the same land. Everyone lived on that same plantation in Scott, Miss. in Bolivar County.

Her mother dreamed of a better life for her children. Dr. Davis moved to Memphis when she was four.

“Some of my siblings remained there on the plantation with my grandmother,” she explains. “Some of us had different mothers.”

So, Davis moves to Memphis and gets her early education in public schools. After graduating Manassas, she attended Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill. With a double-major bachelors degree in sociology and education, she earned a masters in counseling and guidance as well as a doctorate in counseling psychology from Ohio State University.

Today, Dr. Davis is a well-respected psychologist who has committed much of her career to an examination of “deep poverty” and its effects on those who experience it, as well as others’ perceptions of people on the outside looking in.

As APA president, Davis’ “Initiative on Deep Poverty” will use psychological science as a catalyst to help change victim-blaming behavior and redirect the focus on changing structures that perpetuate deep poverty.

Davis will focus on three areas to change the perceptions of poverty:

Collaborate with experts in the psychological science of poverty to better understand the links between poverty health challenges, both physical and mental.
Raise awareness about the attitudes toward those who live in poverty and what psychological science purports about those living in deep poverty.
Elevate the role of psychology in addressing societal issues rooted in poverty by changing the narrative surrounding it and the policies that contribute to it.

A compassionate advocate and practitioner, Davis believes that “injecting psychological science into the discussions around deep poverty can make a difference in the way we talk about this issue and how we write legislation to end deep poverty.”

Prior to taking the helm of the APA, Davis served on the American Psychological Association Board of Directors and is past president of the Society of Counseling Psychology. She sat on the editorial boards of several journals, is author of numerous articles and book chapters on career counseling, and has co-edited two books. She is a co-founder of the National Multicultural Conference and Summit.

She is a founding member of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, whose Vision 2020 Strategic Plan is focused on reducing poverty by five percent in ZIP code 38126, the poorest in the state and one of the poorest in the country.

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Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled

BLACKPRESS USA NEWSWIRE — “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”
The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

7 days ago

June 8, 2026

Oakland Post

By National Women’s Law Center

The National Women’s Law Center released its annual State Child Care Assistance Policies report, finding that the number of children placed on waiting lists for federally funded child care assistance nearly doubled between 2024 and 2025 — and that number has only continued to grow.

The report serves as a key resource for state lawmakers, advocates, and policymakers by tracking state child care assistance policies and identifying where states are strengthening support for families and early educators — or falling behind.

“This deeply troubling increase in the number of children on child care waiting lists is the result of a failure to invest in this crucial sector,” said Karen Schulman, senior director of state child care policy and author of the report. “Since the expiration of tens of billions of dollars in federal child care funding in 2023 and 2024, an already fragile child care system has been pushed even closer to the brink.”

Key findings in the report related to waiting lists for child care assistance include:

• 17 states had waiting lists or a freeze on intake for child care assistance in February 2025, up from 13 states in February 2024.

• Approximately 106,700 children nationwide were added to waiting lists between February 2024 and February 2025, bringing the total to 225,500 children in February 2025 — a 90 percent increase compared to February 2024.

• The numbers climbed even further between February 2025 and summer/fall 2025, with more than 175,000 additional children added to state waiting lists in just a few months — a 78 percent increase.

• At least seven states newly began placing families on waiting lists or freezing intake, while at least 10 additional states saw their waiting lists grow, after February 2025.

The report also includes state-by-state data on key child care assistance policies, including income eligibility limits, parent copayments, provider payment rates, and eligibility policies for parents searching for work.

Click the link to learn more: Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025.

The post Study: Waiting Lists for Child Care Assistance Nearly Doubled appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy

ROLLING OUT — Crucially, Williams did not read the comment as a real farewell. She said she did not believe Sabalenka truly wanted to leave, calling such an outcome a loss for both the player and the sport.
The post Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

June 7, 2026

Oakland Post

The seven-time major champion read frustration, not a real goodbye, in the world No. 1’s words

By David Kesiena | Rolling Out

When the world’s top-ranked player said she wanted to walk away from the sport, Venus Williams chose empathy over alarm.

Aryna Sabalenka’s blunt remark after her French Open quarterfinal collapse rattled plenty of fans, but Williams heard something different in it. The seven-time Grand Slam champion treated the comment as the raw reaction of a hurting athlete rather than a serious signal about her future.

The collapse that triggered the comment

Sabalenka looked headed for a routine win over Diana Shnaider. She took the opening set 6-3 and built a commanding lead in the second, climbing to 4-1 and later serving for the match at 5-4 while sitting just two points from victory.

Then everything unraveled. Shnaider stormed back to steal the second set 7-5 and bageled the world No. 1 in the third, with Sabalenka dropping 12 of the final 13 games in gusty conditions that reached around 26 mph. The 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 result sent Shnaider into her first Grand Slam semifinal and extended Sabalenka’s long wait for a maiden Roland Garros title.

In the aftermath, Sabalenka did not soften her feelings. She told reporters she had no thoughts and no emotions left and felt like quitting on the spot. She described being stuck in a deep, dark mental hole during the match, unable to find her way back.

What Venus Williams said about Sabalenka

Williams reacted with understanding. She admitted the moment made her sad and said she had been swept up in Sabalenka’s emotions, feeling a surge of empathy for her. She praised the Belarusian for laying everything bare on court, where every feeling shows.

Crucially, Williams did not read the comment as a real farewell. She said she did not believe Sabalenka truly wanted to leave, calling such an outcome a loss for both the player and the sport. Rather than scold her, Williams offered a gentle observation about the rhythm of professional tennis. She suggested players might benefit from a little more time to gather themselves before stepping in front of the cameras, a quiet acknowledgment that athletes are routinely asked to dissect painful defeats before the sting has faded.

Sabalenka walks it back

The story did not end on that bleak note. Within days, Sabalenka signaled she was not actually quitting, framing the press-conference outburst as heat-of-the-moment honesty rather than a plan. At the time of the loss she had also left the door open, saying she would see how she felt in a few days and hoped to get back on track mentally. The walk-back lined up with how Williams had read the situation from the start.

It is not the first time a Paris quarterfinal has pushed Sabalenka to her limit. In 2024 she exited at the same stage and skipped her press conference entirely because of illness, with the tour later releasing her quotes on her behalf. The pattern underscores how heavily this particular tournament has weighed on her despite deep runs in recent years.

For now, attention shifts to the grass. Wimbledon offers Sabalenka a quick chance to reset, and a strong showing there would turn this French Open meltdown into a footnote rather than a turning point.

Originally published by Rolling Out — https://rollingout.com.

The post Venus Williams Calls a Sabalenka Exit a Tragedy appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

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COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue

THE CAROLINIAN — Operating at the intersection of the arts and mental health, Darkness RISING uses music, storytelling, wellness programming, and community engagement to inspire healing while addressing barriers that have historically prevented many Black Americans from accessing mental health support.
The post COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue appeared first on BlackPressUSA.

Published

1 week ago

June 7, 2026

Oakland Post

By Judaea Ingram | Special to The Carolinian

RALEIGH, N.C. – Music filled the air as families danced through the crowd, children gathered around activity stations, and community members explored wellness resources from local organizations. Black-owned businesses lined the streets while people stopped for chair massages, conversations, and moments of connection inside the wellness suite.

At the center of the event stood a simple but powerful reminder:

“You Matter.”

For Darkness RISING, those words represent far more than a slogan. They reflect the organization’s mission to break the stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community while creating spaces centered on healing, honesty, and hope.

Operating at the intersection of the arts and mental health, Darkness RISING uses music, storytelling, wellness programming, and community engagement to inspire healing while addressing barriers that have historically prevented many Black Americans from accessing mental health support.

The organization hosts a variety of programs and events throughout the year, including block parties, wellness workshops, mixers, kickoff events, community classes, and Darkness RISING: Live — a free annual arts and wellness festival now celebrating its ninth year.

The festival combines entertainment with healing-centered resources, featuring live music, dancing, singing, food trucks, Black vendors, children’s activities, mental health resources, wellness spaces, and opportunities for open conversations about mental health.

While the events may feel celebratory on the surface, organizers say the deeper purpose is creating safe spaces where people can feel comfortable discussing mental health without fear of judgment.

Darkness RISING also provides free nationwide resources, including a Black Mental Health Resource Packet, a Black Mental Health Provider Database, and its “Find Me a Therapist” initiative, which helps connect individuals with culturally competent care.

The organization’s work is rooted in addressing longstanding inequities that continue impacting mental health access within Black communities.

Historically, segregation, redlining, racial discrimination, incarceration, poverty, and unequal healthcare access have contributed to higher rates of behavioral health challenges while simultaneously limiting access to proper treatment and support. Darkness RISING approaches those issues through what organizers describe as a transformative justice lens, focusing on healing rather than punishment and creating equitable wellness opportunities for marginalized communities.

Its REBUILD program specifically supports justice-involved and formerly incarcerated people of color through free therapy and wellness support, while the REBUILD Youth program focuses on young people impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences, also known as ACEs.

For Rudolph, therapy became life-changing after decades of incarceration and years of rejection after returning home.

“Came home in 2015, started my own computer company, investing in real estate, did the normal thing and got some jobs here and there and was met with rejection after rejection and people telling me I am not a good person,” Rudolph shared. “Even had a rejection in church.”

He said one of the hardest battles became overcoming the mental barriers created during incarceration.

“I got in touch with a couple of friends, and they explained to me how I had to get over the mental hurdles and get rid of the way my prison mindset was in order to survive and become successful,” he said.

Rudolph later moved to North Carolina hoping for a fresh start, but the struggle continued.

“Things were looking bad,” he said. “Could not get a job. The struggle was real.”

Eventually, therapy and support through organizations like Darkness RISING helped begin his healing process. He said working alongside other justice-involved men through therapy gave him the ability to rebuild mentally while finding community with people who understood his experiences.

Stories like Rudolph’s reflect the foundation behind Darkness RISING’s mission: ensuring people feel seen, supported, and worthy of healing regardless of their background or circumstances.

Community members who attend the organization’s events often describe them as emotionally transformative.

Some participants say Darkness RISING encouraged them to seek therapy for the first time, while others say the organization gave them a safe space to openly discuss struggles they previously kept hidden.

“I have been encouraged by the beautiful, generous, brave and open individuals who come together and use their talents to create art, share personal experiences and provide hope to those who may be struggling with mental health,” one participant shared.

By combining art, wellness, education, and community outreach, Darkness RISING continues changing how mental health conversations happen within the Black community.

Not through silence.

But through healing, honesty, connection, and joy.

Originally published by The Carolinian — https://caro.news.

The post COMMENTARY: Using Art, Healing, And Community to Transform Mental Health Dialogue appeared first on BlackPressUSA.