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Neuropsychiatry is beginning to reevaluate current research approaches in the wake of contemporary events of racialized violence against Black and other minoritized individuals. Although researchers, clinicians, and leaders have proposed reactionary personal and institutional commitments for change, many have done so without thoughtful consideration of how race and racism have been conceptualized in science and how sciences racist history could potentially contribute to harmful approaches. Here, we highlight three crucial errors that must be avoided for ethically sound research investigating the neurobiological effects of racism: (1) a belief in “race” as a biological reality, (2) a failure to address problematic approaches that maintain racism and (3) detachment of individual racism-related stress from structural and systemic issues.
