Racism and free speech: Commentary on O'Donohue and Fisher (2022).

In arguing for the addition of an enforceable section on free speech to the (American Psychological Association, 2017; hereinafter, referred to as the Ethics Code), O'Donohue and Fisher (2022) rely on insufficient evidence of a threat to free speech. They also privilege individualistic over communitarian values and calibrate the risks of racist speech narrowly, and at the individual level. A recent resolution by the American Psychological Association (2021) calls upon all psychologists to "eliminate processes and procedures that perpetuate racial injustice" (para. 29, p. 3). In response to that call, I examine evidence pertinent to the proposal and conclude that the recommended addition to the Ethics Code is not empirically supported and could serve to institutionalize racism. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).