The Potential of Associations in Addressing Systematic Racism

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ASPA as an organization.

By David Berlan and Khaldoun AbouAssi
December 20, 2024

The myth of colorblindness lingers in American society, allowing the continuation of inequitable systems rooted in institutional racism. Institutions that could work to ameliorate this hateful legacy instead reinforce them. For instance, universities in Florida, Texas and other states have defunded and ended diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The Supreme Court continues to undermine consideration of historical discrimination in hiring and admissions decisions by government agencies and institutions of higher education. Yet an overlooked set of less visible institutions have the potential to meaningfully engage in work promoting social equity and impact society.

Professional associations (including the American Society of Public Administration) have strong potential to serve as venues mitigating some impacts of institutional racism but must take care they avoid replicating those very structures. A recent study examining participation by people of color in professional associations finds associations beginning to effectively serve people of color, but still needing to address lingering barriers from systematic racism.

One may expect the legacy of discrimination to negatively impact membership, volunteering and experiences within associations. Contrary to that expectation, the study reveals that people of color and women joined the associations studied at a higher rate. And counterintuitively, people of color were less likely to join associations with leaders of color. A wide variety of mechanisms may explain the divergence between the expectations and observations, but many of them hint toward the possibility of professional associations serving as alternative vehicles or even necessary venues for individual career development amongst professionals of color. In other words, it might be that people of color lack opportunities in their workplace and try to compensate for that by joining membership associations. In this sense, these associations play a major and positive role.

Joining associations tells part of the story; being engaged in these organizations is as important. ASPA members are active within the association as they volunteer in diverse roles as capacities such as serving on the Board, leading Sections and Chapters and organizing the Annual Conference. Being membership associations, member volunteering is critical. When it comes to volunteering, the study finds that people of color volunteered less frequently and for less time, but for more activities than white members. All three measures of volunteer engagement were lower for women. This could indicate a broader but shallower engagement in various volunteer activities, rather than a deep commitment to fewer activities.

Yet people of color reported greater satisfaction in their volunteering. Again, this suggests the importance of associations and opportunities for involvement, in helping professionals of color improve their position and satisfaction within their chosen professions. This means that while people of color may not volunteer as frequently or for as long, their involvement in a wider variety of activities could indicate a diverse range of interests or a strategy to make an impact in multiple areas. This might also reflect structural barriers or cultural factors influencing how and when people of color choose to volunteer.

What does this collectively tell us? That professional associations can become critical venues for undermining institutional racism, at least for individuals within the professions they serve. Yet the findings also reveal significant distance to travel before this potential is realized. Similarly, strong potential exists for professional associations to mitigate sexism as previous studies allude to.

Here it is important to emphasize the need for more in-depth exploration of intersectionality. Addressing how race intersects with other factors such as gender, class and disability would provide a more nuanced understanding of the barriers people of color face in membership association and highlight the multifaceted nature of institutional discrimination.

How do professional associations, like ASPA, address systematic racism? Start by recognizing the racist foundations that underly all U.S. institutions, including associations and professions themselves. Then develop a plan to provide equitable opportunities for membership and engagement rooted in recognition of a moral obligation to diversify membership and leadership. Further, ensuring that these efforts avoid creating new burdens, such as token volunteer roles, for people of color, women and other historically disadvantaged communities.

Finally, there is also a lesson here for the discipline of public administration. Even though professional associations (the 850 Group) and other nonprofits (the Bureau of Municipal Research) were the initial building blocks that established the very discipline, insufficient attention is paid to these organization by scholars and journals in the field. If we ignore these alternative venues through which those in public administration undergo professional development, build networks and find their careers, we drastically limit our field’s potential to fully incorporate social equity into public organizations.

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Author: Khaldoun AbouAssi is Provost Associate Professor at the Department of Public Administration & Policy- School of Public Affairs, American University. His research focuses on global governance, especially the governance of refugee camps, as well as public and nonprofit management, delving into organizational capacity- broadly defined. @abouassi.bsky.social

Author: David G. Berlan is an associate professor of public administration and director of the Center for Civic and Nonprofit Leadership at Florida State University’s Askew School. His research examines the role of ideas in how voluntary organizations change.

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