Black History tells us many stories of Black achievements, accomplishments, and contributions; however, some of these stories are untold or go unnoticed. In honor of Black History Month, this article shares a significant piece of Black history that forever changed the way in which psychology works: the creation of Black psychology.
Additionally, psychology has historically harmed people of color, including Black Americans, since the formal institutionalization of the field in the United States in the late 1800s. These harms were recently addressed by the American Psychological Association in its 2021 Apology to People of Color.
What is Black Psychology?
Black psychology is considered to be a distinct academic discipline. No, it’s not merely Black Psychologists who study within the field of Psychology. The need for Black psychology was catalyzed by an event that took place in 1968, where a group of over two hundred Black psychologists met at the American Psychological Association (APA) convention that was held in San Francisco, CA to discuss several concerns they had.
Firstly, their aim was to discuss how problematic it was to use Eurocentric perspectives and racially biased curricula to understand Black experiences which approached understanding African Americans through a deficit perspective, presenting Black people as inferior. People who then differed from this “norm” were seen as deficient. Secondly, the group also discussed the lack of Black people (students and professionals) within psychology and the APA.
The needs of the Black psychologists were left unmet by the APA, so the Black psychologists decided to create their own organization, The Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi). As a result, more Black people were earning degrees in psychology. Yet, Eurocentric perspectives were still being taught to the Black professionals that continued to expose them to the idea that Black people were inferior. This meant that the negative perspectives of Black people continued to be maintained.
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In 1970 Joseph White wrote the first article titled “Toward a Black Psychology” which emphasized the need to have a psychology that studies Black lives in a “non-deficient” and unbiased manner. In his article, he referred to this type of psychology as “Black psychology” thus being the one who coined the term. Soon enough, the field of Black Psychology was formed in a systematic way to study and properly understand Black experiences.
Within the field lies three schools of thought: traditional, reform, and radical. Briefly stated, the traditional school challenges Eurocentric psychology but uses the methodology with minor changes, the reform school essentially recognizes components of Eurocentric psychology that are useful and can be incorporated within Black psychology and the radical school constructs new theories to capture Black experience using African-based culturally tailored theories. Given the difference with each school, different methodology approaches are used. It should be noted that though each school is distinct from each other, there’s typically overlap.
In all, many Black psychologists including Joseph White advocated for the need of Black experiences, thoughts, and behaviors to be studied in a non-deficient manner.
Black Psychology encompasses many concepts and theories that apply to African Americans. The concepts and theories come from two perspectives. One perspective assumes universality, which means that African Americans can be studied using universal laws, while the other operates from the belief that the study of African beliefs, behaviors, and psychology is essential to the study of African Americans.
In a reflection on the field of black psychology, and for the ABPsi's 50th anniversary, Cokley describes three methodological approaches that are characteristic of the work of many black psychologists. The deconstruction method focuses on diagnosing and breaking down misconceptions and inaccuracies that Eurocentric Psychology perpetuates. An example of this is Robert V. Guthrie's book, Even the Rat Was White, where he deconstructed mistruths and celebrates under-appreciated black psychologists.
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The constructionist approach recognizes Black Psychology as a field grounded in an African worldview and ethos that is distinct and independent from Eurocentric Psychology. Afrocentric psychologists develop paradigms, practices, and methodologies in accordance with the values of the African worldview to address the well-being of African people and eradicate social, economic, and political injustice. This Afrocentric approach emphasizes the agency of people of African descent in creating and sustaining cultural knowledge that not only aids them in their survival of oppression but also enables them to thrive as people outside of the context of this oppression.
In 1974, the Association of Black Psychologists created their official journal called The Journal of Black Psychology. This journal is directed toward understanding of experiences and behavior of African American populations. It covers many issues in the African American society, such as, HIV, sickle cell disease, racial identity, African American children, and substance abuse prevention.
In 2014, Therapy for Black Girls was created to form an online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls. Therapy for Black Girls focuses on making mental health topics more relevant and accessible for Black women.
The National Queer and Trans Therapists of America launched in May 2016, as a call to organize mental health practitioners to establish a network where therapists can deepen their analysis of healing justice and where QTPoC (Queer and Trans People of Color) community can connect to care.
Doll test - The effects of racism on children (ENG)
Pioneers in African American Psychology
In the history of psychology, Black psychologists have played an essential role in advancing the field, expanding our understanding of human nature, and promoting social change. Black Americans’ contributions to the field of mental health have been long overlooked.
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Here are some of the key figures who have shaped the field:
Dr. Francis Cecil Sumner, Ph.D.
Dr. Francis Sumner, known as the “Father of Black Psychology,” was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in psychology in the United States. Francis Cecil Sumner was born in Arkansas in 1895. As a teenager without a high school education, Francis was self-taught after his elementary school years and was able to pass an entrance exam to Lincoln University, at the age of 15, and graduate magna cum laude with honors. He later enrolled at Clark University to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1916. Although he was approved as a PhD candidate, he could not begin his doctoral dissertation because he was drafted into the army during World War I.
His work focused on equality and racial justice within the education system. Francis’ focus in psychology was on ”race psychology” where he was interested in understanding racial bias and supporting educational justice. Besides ”race psychology,” he also studied color and vision, as well as the psychology of religion.
While teaching at Howard University, he was able to help establish a psychology department and became head of that department. Francis Sumner is credited as one of the founders of the psychology department at Howard University, which he chaired from 1928 until his death in 1954. Under the leadership of Francis and his colleagues, Howard University became a major force in the education of African American psychology students. colleges and universities. 60 of which had previously received a bachelor’s or master’s degree from the Department of Psychology at Howard.
He worked with the Journal of Social Psychology and the Psychological Bulletin, writing abstracts. His students described him as motivating and encouraging.
Dr. Inez Beverly Prosser, Ph.D.
Dr. Inez Prosser was the first African American woman to receive her doctoral degree in psychology. America’s first black female psychologist, Inez Beverly Prosser, PhD, was born around 1897 to Samuel Andrew and Veola Hamilton Beverly in the small town of Yoakum, Texas. Not much is known about her early years besides the fact she was the oldest daughter of 11 children. A bright student, she graduated valedictorian from Yoakum Colored High School in 1912 and then went on to receive a degree in teacher training from Prairie View Normal College where she was also valedictorian.
She is most known for her integral work in the landmark case Brown vs. Board of Education. After receiving her degree, she went back to Yoakum and taught for a short time at their segregated schools, before accepting a teaching position in Austin, where she took up classes at Samuel Huston College. In around 1924, she graduated with distinction from Samuel Huston with a major in education. Shortly after her graduation she married Rufus A. Prosser.
Unable to stay away from academia, Inez decided to continue her education obtained a Master of Arts degree in educational psychology from the University of Colorado. She then accepted a position at Tillotson College teaching education, where she was recognized as an excellent teacher and leader. Then from 1921 to 1930 Inez served as dean and registrar at Tillotson College. In 1931 Inez was awarded the Rockefeller Foundation General Education Board Fellowship because of her excellent and well-known work as a teacher. In 1933 she received a PhD, one of the first African American women to accomplish this in the United States, in educational psychology from the University of Cincinnati. Her dissertation, which received a huge amount of recognition, was on The Non-Academic Development of Negro Children in Mixed and Segregated Schools.
She found that Black students benefited more in segregated schools because they were more likely to receive affection, support, and a balanced curriculum versus an integrated school; however Black schools were highly under-resourced and inequitable funded. During Inez’s lifetime she established a fund, while completing her own education, that enabled her sisters and brothers to obtain a college education. Of the eleven brothers and sisters, all completed high school and six further completed a college education.
Mamie Phipps Clark, Ph.D. and Kenneth Bancroft Clark, Ph.D.
Doctors Mamie and Kenneth Clark were the first African Americans to receive their doctorate degrees from Columbia University after attending Howard University for their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Mamie Phipps Clark was the first African American woman to earn a doctorate degree in psychology from Columbia University. She previously earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Howard University. Her experience in college and specifically graduate-level courses helped her realize the shortage of psychological services available to the African American community and other minorities.
They’re most famously known for their revolutionary “doll studies,” which were developed from Dr. Mamie Clark’s master’s thesis. The Clarks are best known for the famous “Doll Study” in which more than 200 Black children participated. Both Mamie and Kenneth Clark worked on this study, providing invaluable evidence in favor of ending school segregation in the supreme court case Brown vs.
These studies highlighted the impact of racism and segregation on African American children. Because of their significant work regarding Black child development, the Clarks were expert witnesses in Briggs v. Elliot, one of the cases related to Brown v.
Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark's dedication and passion for adequate mental health services for all prompted Dr. Clark to open her own agency to provide comprehensive psychological services to the poor, blacks, and other minority children and families. In February 1946, Dr. Clark and her husband opened the doors of “The Northside Center for Child Development” for those in the Harlem area. She worked in the center counseling and providing other psychological services from 1946 until 1979 when she retired. Although retired, Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark served on different advisory boards and was still very active within her community.
Joseph L. White, Ph.D.
Dr. White spent most of his career at the University of California at Irvine as a professor, but he also contributed greatly as a dean, clinician, and consultant. His article “Towards a Black Psychology,” published in 1970 by Ebony Magazine, began a movement within psychology to encourage a better understanding of psychological approaches that cater to the Black experience. Joseph White contributed to the success of many students of color as well as spent his time working as an advocate for educational reform. White is widely considered the "Godfather of Black Psychology". In 1961, he became the first African-American to earn a PhD in psychology at Michigan State University while also being one of the only five African-Americans in the country to hold a doctorate in psychology.
Robert Lee Williams II, Ph.D.
Robert Lee Williams II earned his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis and was a leading figure in psychology because of his work on the education of African American children. He was a founding member of the Association of Black Psychologists and served as its president from 1969-1970. He was also a professor at Washington University and helped to develop the African and African American Studies program. He provided essential research on racial and cultural biases in IQ testing, and created the term Ebonics.
Dr. Herman George Canady, Ph.D.
Herman George Canady was a prominent Black clinical and social psychologist, and was the first to study the influence of rapport between an IQ test proctor and the subject, specifically researching how the race of the proctor can create bias in IQ testing. Herman George Canady was a prominent Black clinical and social psychologist. He is credited with being the first psychologist to study the influence of rapport between an IQ test proctor and the subject, specifically researching how the race of a test proctor can create bias in IQ testing.
His research was able to provide suggestions for cultivating adequate testing environments. He also helped to provide an understanding of testing environments that were suitable to help Black students succeed. He was also a part of the American Teachers Association where he reached out to those working in psychology and suggested they should advance the teaching and application of psychology within black institutions. Dr. Canady earned his Ph.D.
Dr. Beverly Greene
Dr. Beverly Greene is known as the “Pioneer of Intersectional Psychology,” and has taught countless students about cultural diversity and mental health. Beverly Greene is the author of the landmark article "When the Therapist is White and the Patient is Black: Considerations for Psychotherapy in the Feminist Heterosexual and Lesbian Communities." She is a pioneer of intersectional psychology, and her work on heterosexism, sexism, and racism has illuminated how different intersecting facets of a person's identity shape their experiences of privilege, oppression, and mental health. Dr. Greene's work earned her the honor of the Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology in 2008.
She completed her master’s and doctorate degrees at Adelphi University and then worked as a staff psychologist at Kings County Municipal Hospital’s Inpatient Child Psychiatry Division in Brooklyn. It was there that she eventually was asked to teach her predominantly white colleagues about the nuances they should consider when working with their predominantly Black patients. This led to her writing about her teachings, which eventually translated to the start of a career teaching at St. John’s University in 199. She still teaches on cultural diversity and its intersections with mental health at St.
| Name | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Francis Cecil Sumner | First African American to receive a Ph.D. in psychology; established psychology department at Howard University. |
| Inez Beverly Prosser | First African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in psychology; work in Brown vs. Board of Education. |
| Mamie and Kenneth Clark | Revolutionary “doll studies” highlighting the impact of racism and segregation on African American children. |
| Joseph L. White | Authored "Towards a Black Psychology," advocating for unbiased study of Black lives. |
| Robert Lee Williams II | Research on racial and cultural biases in IQ testing; coined the term Ebonics. |
| Herman George Canady | Studied the influence of rapport between IQ test proctor and subject, specifically race. |
| Beverly Greene | Pioneer of Intersectional Psychology, focusing on cultural diversity and mental health. |
Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt
Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt received her Ph.D. from Harvard University and currently teaches psychology at Stanford University. Jennifer Eberhardt is an esteemed professor of psychology at Stanford University. She is an expert on the consequences of the psychological association between race and crime and has done extensive research on the topics of implicit bias, criminal justice, and the education system, and her work has provided the evidence needed to educate law enforcement officers in implicit bias training.
She has conducted extensive research on implicit bias, criminal justice, and the education system, and is considered an expert on the consequences of the psychological association between race and crime.
Dr. Joy Bradford
Dr. Joy Bradford is a licensed psychologist with her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. She focuses on mental health topics within the African American community and the importance of Black women setting boundaries to safeguard their well-being. Dr. Bradford currently has a popular mental health platform, Therapy for Black Girls, which includes a weekly podcast with millions of listeners.
Dr. Claud Steele
Dr. Claud Steele has researched stereotypes for more than twenty years, with his findings suggesting that stereotypes are so powerful that they can change human behavior. Claud holds a Ph.D. His most famous work was on stereotype threats and their correlation with minority student academic performance. In 2010, he released a book “Whistling Vivaldi and Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us,” which detailed years of research he completed on minority students in higher education. He suggested many strategies for reducing stereotype threats and enhancing academic performance.
