February 2022

Black history month has been observed across the United States of America for the past 52 years and has also been recognized in Canada, Ireland, and in the United Kingdom.

Did You Know?

In the years of 2008 -2012, Black Americans only accounted for 8.6% of mental health service use in adults in the US (SAMSA, 2015). In the same study, approximately 25% of Black Americans with an unmet need for mental health services identified “Prejudice and Discrimination” as their top reason for not seeking services (SAMSA, 2015).

Black Leaders in Psychology

Francis Sumner (1895-1954) - Francis is known as the “Father of Black Psychology”. He was the first African American to receive a PhD in Psychology. He graduated from Clark University in 1920 with his dissertation titled “Psychoanalysis of Freud and Adler”. Sumner proceeded to chair the psychology department at Howard University from 1928 until 1954.

Inez Beverly Prosser (1895-1934) - Inez was the first African American woman to receive a doctoral degree in Psychology. She received her PhD in Educational Psychology in 1933 with her dissertation titled “The Non-Academic Development of Negro Children in Mixed and Segregated Schools”. Her work helped influence the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954.

Albert Sidney Beckham (1897-1964) - Created a relationship with the neighborhood, school, and church in the community to benefit African American youth for the first time. Albert is also known as the first African American to hold the title for Juvenile Research and Chicago Bureau of Child Study. He is also the first African American School Psychologist.

Kenneth Bancroft Clark (1914-2005) - Worked in the Brown v Board of Education case. Kenneth Clark found that children preferred white dolls over brown dolls, concluding that segregation was psychologically damaging. This weighed heavily in the decision of the Supreme Court to outlaw segregation. Kenneth Clark was also the first black man to be president of the American Psychological Association (APA).

Robert Lee Williams II (1930-Present) - Second president and founding member of the National Association of Black Psychologists. Creator of the Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity and the term Ebonics.

Beverly Daniel Tatum (1954-Present) - Known to be a race relations expert and leader with areas of research including racial identity development and the role of race in the classroom. She also has a book examining the development of racial identity, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”