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Psychology is grounded in the ethical principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence, that is, "do no harm." Yet many have argued that psychology as a field is attached to carceral systems and ideologies that uphold the prison industrial complex (PIC), including the field of community psychology (CP). There have been recent calls in other areas of psychology to transform the discipline into an abolitionist social science, but this discourse is nascent in CP. This paper uses the semantic device of "algorithms" (e.g., conventions to guide thinking and decision‐making) to identify the areas of alignment and misalignment between abolition and CP in the service of moving us toward greater alignment. The authors propose that many in CP are already oriented to abolition because of our values and theories of empowerment, promotion, and systems change; our areas of misalignment between abolition and CP hold the potential to evolve. We conclude with proposing implications for the field of CP, including commitments to the belief that (1) the PIC cannot be reformed, and (2) abolition must be aligned with other transnational liberation efforts (e.g., decolonization). Highlights: The prison industrial complex (PIC) is a White supremacist system of violence that needs to be abolished.PIC abolition would replace systems of punishment and control with care and accountability.Community psychology (CP) and abolition are aligned in commitments to social justice and systems change.CP and abolition have misalignments, but they can be shifted.Aligning with abolition will help CP follow the "decolonial turn" for which many are calling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When White people are predominantly in power and the discipline has yet to grapple with its own involvement in oppressive and racist ideologies, the concept of empowerment has the potential of being misused, or worse, abused. This is my experience and observation within Community Psychology (CP). In this paper, I interrogate the history of CP, especially the interplay of colonized knowledge production practices and the concept of empowerment, and uncover the use and abuse of well‐meaning community psychological principles by scholars and leaders without the critical racial awareness to apply them to communities to which they do not belong. Lastly, I offer a "slash and burn" approach to starting over. Highlights: The concept of empowerment has been misused and abused to support white supremacy.Community Psych was created by White people, for White people, to indoctrinate people of Color.Community Psychology and Society for Community Research and Action has a legacy of weaponizing empowerment and defensive gaslighting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]