Contributions of African Americans to the Field of Psychology

Abstract

This article highlights the contributions of African Americans to the field of psychology with a focus on the struggles of early African American psychologists, the rise of Afrocentrism, and recent theoretical models developed by African American psychologists. The conclusion of this work is that psychology is much richer because of the contributions of African American psychologists.

Proactively Addressing the Shortage of Blacks in Psychology: Highlighting the School Psychology Subfield

“…However, the social and professional milieus of the start of diversity recruitment discourse in psychology are not apparent in Albee's (1969) report of the APA conference. In actuality, the noted conference on diversity was prompted when in 1969 a group of students from the Black Students Psychological Association (BSPA) interrupted the APA presidential address of George Miller, with demands of Black recruitment and suspension of psychological testing (Black, Spence, & Omari, 2004;Simpkins & Raphael, 1970). Black students' frustrations of being unsupported by psychology at large mirrored those of Black psychologists, many of whom organized amongst themselves in an effort to address issues, such as underrepresentation.…”

“…Black students' frustrations of being unsupported by psychology at large mirrored those of Black psychologists, many of whom organized amongst themselves in an effort to address issues, such as underrepresentation. For example, ABPsi was formed in 1968 as an advocacy organization in light of apparently irreconcilable differences between African American perspectives and APA policies on research, bias in psychological testing, and the urgency to draw more African Americans into professional psychology (Black et al, 2004). Even prior to ABPsi, African American psychologists in the 1930s organized the Black Psychology Organization as a result of many of the same concerns of being ignored and/or unsupported.…”

Challenges in Implementing Antiracist Pedagogy Into Counselor Education Programs: A Collective Self‐Study

“…However, students would benefit from learning about the early contributions to psychology and sociology by Black scholars (e.g., W. E. B. Du Bois, Cecil Sumner, Kenneth and Mamie Clark;Black et al, 2004).…”

Exploring the Impact of Increasing the Number of Black Men in Professional Psychology

“…Continuing the legacy of other Black male psychologists with an African/Black psychology lens (Black, Spence, & Omari, 2004; Hilliard, 1994; Williams, 2008), Black male psychologists can challenge the misuse of psychological testing and standardized examinations in educational settings and encourage teachers to recognize and modify their classrooms to address the unique learning styles of Black learners (Hilliard, 2000). Black male psychologists’ advocacy must also involve highlighting and helping to reverse gendered racial disparities that negatively impact the academic trajectory of Black students and increase the school-to-prison pipeline for Black (male) youth.…”

“…Responding to these limitations of Eurocentric psychological research, Black psychologists began to produce and disseminate strengths-oriented, culturally relevant psychological research that was grounded in the social reality of the experiences of African descent people (Black et al, 2004). A review of more recent scholarship reveals the important role Black male theorists and researchers have played in the creation of non-deficit theories of Black boys and men through their nuanced attention to the psychological, educational, behavioral, emotional, and sociocultural outcomes of Black boys and men (e.g., Akbar, 1991; Franklin & Boyd-Franklin, 2000; Payne, 2008; Stevenson, 2002; White & Cones, 1999).…”