February is known for “Black History Month.” The origin of this month’s distinction was in order to acknowledge and honor the achievements and contributions of Black American within the history of the United States. “The event grew out of ‘Negro History Week,’ the brainchild of noted historian Carter G. Woodson and other prominent African Americans.” The conception of this idea was in 1915 with national celebration of the 50th anniversary of emancipation. “Since 1976, every U.S. president has officially designated the month of February as Black History Month. Other countries around the world, including Canada and the United Kingdom, also devote a month to celebrating Black history.”
1Alliance CPS joins in the celebration of the following persons who have pioneered through great adversity and challenged the status quo throughout history to educate, provide advocacy, and advance the field of mental health in order to better serve the clients, patients and people included in vulnerable groups have have been marginalized. Please take the time to learn about just a few persons who made such a significant impact.
Bebe Moore Campbell: Ms. Campbell was an American author, journalist and mental health advocate who had a focus on marginalized communities, highlighting the mental health needs of Blacks. There was a particular focus on bridging the gap between discussion, access, and resources for Blacks needing mental health services. She founded NAMI-Inglewood (National Alliance on Mental Health) in order to start the needed discussion regarding mental health among Blacks. She was later recognized by Congress in 2008 in National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month.
Beverly Daniel Tatum: Ms. Tatum’s acclaimed book, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” focused examining the impact of racial identity and development particularly in children in the educational system. She challenges the effect of racism within education. She has received the Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology in 2014 from the American Psychological Association.
Robert Lee Williams, II: The “creator of the Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity, an intelligence test specifically oriented towards Black experiences, language, and culture.” The results of this test challenged a once-held idea that Black people had lower average intelligence than white people. Instead, he questioned and demonstrated the differences in previous IQ data were likely the result of speech and experiential differences revealing the testing biases in favor of white people. He also created the term Ebonics, to refer to the African American vernacular English. He was a founding member of the National Association of Black Psychologists and served as the second president of the organization.
Joseph L. White Ph.D.: Wrote an article entitled: “Toward a Black Psychology” which highlighted the strengths, rather than deficits regarding the evaluation of Black behavior and culture; This was an article ahead of its time as it was the first to describe Black behavior in a more positive and strength-based manner. He identified the “illusion of Black inferiority,” when the problem was really a deficit in cultural competence with regard to the application of psychological principles. He helped to found the Association of Black Psychologists and the Black Studies program at San Francisco State University in 1968. He has been called “the father of Black Psychology.”
Drs. Mamie Phipps Clark & Kenneth Bancroft Clark: Both have their Ph.D.’s. Dr. Mamie Clark was the first African-American to earn a doctorate degree from Columbia University. Dr. Kenneth Clark was the first Black president of the American Psychological Association. Their collective research was instrument in the providing evidence in the supreme court case Brown vs. The Board of Education, noting the psychologically harmful effects of segregation on Black children. Their research, “Doll Study,” included over 200 Black children and led to the end of segregation in schools. In 1946, they both opened “The Northside Center for Child Development” in Harlem, which served poor Blacks and other minority children/families by providing psychological services.
Jennifer Eberhardt, Ph.D.: Professor of Psychology at Stanford University. Has conducted comprehensive research on implicit bias, criminal justice and the education systems linking race and crime. The research has been instrumental in educating law enforcement personnel regarding implicit bias training.
Hope Landrine, Ph.D.: Exposed the “societal inequities in the diagnosis and categorization of psychiatric disorders” in her published work, “The Politics of Madness.” She brought scientific awareness on how the stereotypes (of women, people living in poverty, and ethnic minorities) affected diagnosing and maintained the negative and existent inequities within society. She combined an approach that discusses public health with psychology and psychiatry and that emphasized the issue of learning the person within one’s context, as to do otherwise would make comprehension of an individual’s mental health inaccurate and incomplete.
E. Kitch Childs, Ph.D.: Helped to found the Association for Women in Psychology and the Chicago’s Gay Liberation Front. In her practice, she served LGBTO+ people, those living with HIV/AIDS, and other disenfranchised groups with a focus on feminist therapy. Her research focuses on the experience of Black women.
1Alliance CPS hopes that you take the opportunity to get to know the people around you, while challenging and identifying your own internal biases for people who may be different from you. Allow others to educate you about their context (culture, identity, experiences, etc). We seek to be a culturally competent practice that examines our clients within their personal environment and allows our clients to educate us on their experiences and how this affects their overall health. If you are seeking services for mental health concerns, please reach out today.
Resources:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-history-month
https://www.mhanational.org/black-pioneers-mental-health
https://www.activeminds.org/blog/10-african-african-american-psychologists-you-should-know/