African American Psychology and the birth of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi)

Black psychology, also known as African American psychology and African/Black psychology, is a scientific field that focuses on how people of African descent know and experience the world. The field, particularly in the United States, largely emerged as a result of the lack of understanding of the psychology of Black people under traditional, Westernized notions of psychology. Overall, the field combines perspectives from both Black studies and traditional psychology encapsulating a range of definitions and approaches while simultaneously proposing its own framework of understanding . In practice, Black psychology exists as both an academic and applied discipline, which focuses on furthering the well-being of people of African descent through more accurate knowledge . Based on different definitional systems, developments in Black psychology tend to utilize a range of approaches . Overall, the field has contributed to developing Afrocentric models of research, therapy, and well-being, identifying inaccuracies in current psychological frameworks, furthering understandings specific to Black and African-American individuals, and advocating for increased equity and appreciation of Black excellence. Scientific racism motivated many notable Black psychologists to found the Association of Black Psychologists, explore psychology through different lenses, and develop Black psychology as a field .

The ABPsi was established in 1968 in San Francisco at the annual convention of the APA in protest to APA’s lack of responsiveness to the interests and needs of African American psychologists and the communities they serve . The ABPsi was formed in the wake of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the rise of Black Nationalism of that era . The ABPsi intended to create a psychology of the black experience focused on improving the circumstances of black people. Their initial purpose was to help black psychologists in a time of discrimination and to provide psychological resources to the larger black community . The founding psychologists believed that a psychology created mostly by white middle class men could not explain the situation of people of African descent, and moved to incorporate African philosophy and cultural experience into the creation of a new understanding of black psychology. The principles of ABPsi's creation were "to organize their skills and abilities to influence necessary change, and to address themselves to significant social problems affecting the Black community and other segments of the population whose needs society has not fulfilled." The founders actively chose to remain independent of the American Psychological Association (APA), decrying that body's complicit role in perpetuating white racism in society and the prevalence of studies featuring only white male participants . Instead, the ABPsi took a more active stance, seeking “to develop a nationwide structure for pooling their resources in meeting the challenge of racism and poverty” according to a statement released at their founding in 1968.  *Ebony Magazine'*s publication of "Toward a Black Psychology" by Joseph White in 1970 was a landmark in setting the tone and direction of the emerging field of Black Psychology. By 1974 the ABPsi had established offices in Washington, D.C., begun the *Journal of Black Psychology* , and fully separated from the APA.

At the 1968 APA convention, ABPsi presented the APA a petition of concerns. This petition addressed the three major issues that would serve as organizing principles for future professional organization activities of persons of color in psychology. These issues were (a) the low numbers of Black psychologists and Black graduate students in psychology, (b) APA’s failure both to direct its scientific and professional energies toward the solution of permanent social concerns—particularly those of poverty and racism—and to address social problems of concern to communities of color (e.g., the Kerner Report on Civil Disorders; IQ testing), and (c) the inadequate representation of Blacks in the APA governance structure (Baker, 2003; Pickren & Tomes, 2002; Williams, 1974, 2008). The petition included specific proposals for addressing these issues (Williams, 1974, 2008). The petition would guide many of ABPsi’s activities for nearly a decade .

**Further Reading**

1. Barry Wallace, & Barry Wallace Jr. (2019, July 16). *10 African & African American Psychologists you should know*. Active Minds. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.activeminds.org/blog/10-african-african-american-psychologists-you-should-know/2.
2. Cokley, K. (n.d.). *Why black psychology matters*. Psychology Today. Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/black-psychology-matters/202007/why-black-psychology-matters.
3. DeFreitas, S. C. (2020). *African American Psychology: A positive psychology perspective*. Springer Publishing Company, LLC.
4. *Guthrie, Robert V. (2004). Even the rat was white : a historical view of psychology. Boston, MA : Pearson/Allyn and Bacon,*

1. ↑ https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0003-066X.34.7.597
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://abpsi.org/about-abpsi/
3. ↑ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0095798418810592
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black\_psychology#Predominant\_Contributors\_to\_Black\_Psychology
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/african-american-psychology.pdf
6. ↑ The History of the Association of Black Psychologists, pg.1
7. ↑ https://doi.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0003-066X.47.5.629
8. ↑ https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/journal/journal-black-psychology
9. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association\_of\_Black\_Psychologists