The Professional Counselor | Volume 14, Issue 2 165 direct and unfiltered insights about factors that have contributed to their engagement and factors that inhibit that engagement, given how their specific experiences and insights are not significantly reflected in counseling research. Second, the results can provide counselors at all levels (e.g., counselor education program faculty and staff, counseling leaders, practicing counselors, and counseling students) an introductory evidence base that can inform more innovative ways to both recruit Black counselors and make counselor preparation programs more inclusive, supportive, and affirming. Third, the findings also provide counselor preparation programs and the agencies and institutions that employ graduates with an introductory evidence base that contributes to increasing the number of Black counselors, which has been documented to encourage more Black and other marginalized people to seek mental health support (Cook et al., 2017; Moreno et al., 2020; Noonan et al., 2016; Primm et al., 2010). The reasons for the historical exclusion and ongoing underrepresentation of Black counselors are simple. We assert that Black counselors’ exclusion and underrepresentation are a direct consequence of systemic racism. Different forms of systemic racism are evidenced in at least two specific contexts: 1) systemic racism in counseling programs evidenced by limited enrollment of Black counseling students and hiring of Black faculty and 2) systemic racism in counseling journals evidenced by underreported research about career development for Black counselors. Systemic Racism in Counseling Programs In its most recent report on counseling program racial demographics, CACREP (2022) noted that approximately 55% of all students in counseling programs were White, while just over 16% were Black. In 2017 CACREP reported approximately 60% of students in counseling programs were White, while less than 20% were Black. So, while there is more representation of other students of color in accredited counseling programs, the number of Black students has decreased. These trends continue in graduate education at institutions across the United States with respect to Black student enrollment. The NCES (2023) reported that Black students comprised 14% of the approximately 3 million students enrolled in U.S. postbaccalaureate programs, as compared to 62% of White students enrolled in 2019. Likewise, the NCES (2021) reported that of the approximately 810,000 full-time faculty at degreegranting institutions in 2018, 75% were White and 6% were Black. The recent Supreme Court ruling striking down race-based affirmative action in college admissions (Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2023), along with assessments found to be culturally biased and inconsistent in predicting students’ success (e.g., Graduate Record Examination; Sullivan et al., 2022) have the potential to be barriers to Black student enrollment. These factors have clear implications for the counseling workforce, evidenced by White counselors comprising anywhere between 70% and 76% of the counseling workforce (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2023). Unfortunately, Black counseling students and faculty have reported counseling program climates to be isolating, hostile, and tokenizing (Bradley & Holcomb-McCoy, 2004; Brooks & Steen, 2010; Haskins et al., 2013). Career Development Among Black People in Helping Professions The research on the impact of race and racial identity on career development among Black people is consistent, indicating Black people consider their race in their career choices (Bell, 2018; ByarsWinston, 2010; Byars-Winston & Fouad, 2006; Chung, 2002; Fouad & Byars-Winston, 2005; Hackett & Byers, 1996; Rollins & Valdez, 2006). Unfortunately, very little research explicitly reports on Black people’s motivation to join helping professions, including counseling. June and Pringle (1977) offered a constructive critique of career theorists (i.e., Roe, Super, and Holland) whose research anchors career development theory in many counselor preparation programs, writing that “None of the three writers incorporated the influence of race in any significant manner in their theories” (June & Pringle, 1977, pp. 22–23). June and Pringle’s insights from more than 35 years ago are telling, given the
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