Black History Month: Black Psychology

In honor of celebrating Black History Month, I want to spotlight two important people in the psychology field. First, is Frances Sumner, PhD. He was known as the “Father of Black Psychology” because, despite not having a high school education, he was still the first African American to receive a PhD in the psychology field. Sumner was born in Arkansas in 1895. He passed an entrance exam to Lincoln University in which he graduated at the top of his class. He was eventually approved to be a PhD candidate but was drafted into World War I. When he returned home, he continued his doctoral program as well as publishing several articles, even though he wasn’t paid for them because of his color. His focus was understanding racial bias and promoting justice in education.

Our other notable spotlight for Black History Month has ties to our own state of Colorado. Inez Prosser was the first African American female to receive her doctoral degree in psychology. She was born in Texas in 1895 and after completing high school, she became a teacher in a segregated school. She went on to receive a B.A. in Education and then a master’s degree in educational psychology from our own University of Colorado. She did not receive her PhD in psychology from the University of Cincinnati until she was thirty-eight years old. She is known for her dissertation about her findings in the educational field that showed how some African American students found benefits from a segregated school experience because they were more likely to receive a culturally balanced education, be treated more fairly, and have access to more support. She claimed that segregated schools allowed black students to accept their identity and feel socially confident. Unfortunately, Dr. Prosser died in a car accident one year after receiving her PhD. However, her work influenced the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education. 

Other Black psychologists to mention are (Wallace Jr.):

• Dr. Herman Canady, who researched the racial bias associated with IQ tests.

• Robert Lee Williams II went on to correct that by designing a Black intelligence test using African American vernacular and culturally appropriate personal experiences.

• Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark, who exposed the research of how segregated African American preschool children’s consciousness of self were negatively affected. This was instrumental when making racial segregation in schools unconstitutional.

• Dr. Maxie Clarence Maultsby, Jr. was the founder of a psychotherapeutic method called Rational Behavioral Therapy which is still used as an effective technique for mental health counseling. (MHA)

In 2015, 86% of psychologists in the U.S. workforce were white and only 4% were black/African American. (Lin, Stamm, & Christidis 2018) A few years ago, 10% of psychology doctorates awarded in our country were earned by African American students, but only 3% of them work as psychologists in the field. Many of them pursue research or college professor careers instead of a therapy practice. This is a big problem without an answer in sight. As it is, there is a shortage of mental health therapists nationwide, regardless of race. Considering that African Americans make up roughly 13% of our population but out of all therapists, there are only 3-4% of black therapists available, means that finding one is very difficult.

One of the main reasons people tend to prefer a therapist of the same race is because of cultural education. Clients must spend time trying to educate a different-race therapist about cultural aspects of their lives whereas a therapist of the same race would probably already identify and understand those aspects. (Johnson) So to try to offset the imbalance between Black people needing therapy and a significant shortage of Black therapists, it becomes imperative for therapists of other races to educate themselves. Not only should they educate themselves about various races’ customs, cultures, and beliefs, but they have a responsibility to evaluate their own racial biases. This would help them to further understand where their African American client is coming from as well as opening their own minds to identify more closely with the client. (Bailey) Of course, it won’t be the same, but it’s a start to try to provide the help the Black community needs in the mental health field. Mental health does not racially discriminate so having adequate resources to help is imperative.

It has been an honor to write this article. I will admit that, despite my college education, hearing several of the names of these influential people in the psychology field was new to me. I have been enlightened, educated, and enthralled, which, ironically is the purpose of celebrating Black History Month.

Kyndal Sims

Birch Psychology

https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/psychologists/sumner-prosser

https://www.apa.org/workforce/data-tools/demographics 

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint (Lin, Stamm, & Christidis 2018)

https://www.psycom.net/race-diagnosis-treatment-and-wellness (Johnson)

https://www.apaservices.org/practice/news/treating-people-color (Bailey)

https://www.activeminds.org/blog/10-african-african-american-psychologists-you-should-know/ (Wallace Jr.)

https://www.mhanational.org/black-pioneers-mental-health (MHA)