Pupillary Disturbances in Schizophrenic Negroes

‘Racial differences have to be considered’: Lauretta Bender, Bellevue Hospital, and the African American psyche, 1936-52

“…Nevertheless, Bender never ruled out the possibility that a primitive 'Negro psyche' typified by 'excitability' and 'strong emotions' existed, partly because her clinical experience with African Americans was generally limited to work with children (Oksiloff, 2001: 121;Schilder and Parker, 1931). The fact that she specialized in child psychiatry and published almost exclusively about children is highly significant here.…”

“…Other researchers in child development had already brought some scholarly legitimacy to venerable white supremacist folk beliefs, especially to the assumption that blacks had an innate aptitude for dancing and rhythm (Bean, 1936;Johnson, 1931;Nathanson, 1928;Schilder and Parker, 1931;Van Alystine and Osborne, 1937). This was not so uncommon in the 1930s.…”

“…This was not so uncommon in the 1930s. Other researchers in child development had already brought some scholarly legitimacy to venerable white supremacist folk beliefs, especially to the assumption that blacks had an innate aptitude for dancing and rhythm (Bean, 1936;Johnson, 1931;Nathanson, 1928;Schilder and Parker, 1931;Van Alystine and Osborne, 1937). If not for this climate of academic interest in the relative validity of common racial stereotypes, Bender might not have assigned a racial dimension to 'sleeping attacks or so-called narcolepsy' or to a 'motility [spontaneous movement] pattern in which dancing is a significant factor' (Bender, 1939: 218, 220).…”