5.1: Context and Foundation

What is Black Psychology and why do we study it?

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Wall with a quote stating "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery." (Public Domain; Muffin via Etiquetas)

Black Psychology, also referred to as African American Psychology or Africana Psychology, is the branch of psychology that focuses on the experiences, viewpoints, and mental health of people of African descent in the United States. It is an area of study that was created in the late 1960s and early 1970s in response to the mainstream psychology's neglect, negative view and deficit model of the distinct psychological experiences of African Americans. It helped to shine a light on blatant ethical issues, inherent racism in psychological research and the necessity of an Afrocentric paradigm shift in the larger field of psychology. It acknowledges how anti-blackness, racism, prejudice, and oppression affect both the mental health of people and entire communities. While Black Psychology has carved out a colonized free mental space, it has helped shape theories, research techniques, and treatments that speak to the particular needs, assets and societal variables of African American people and communities.

The unique experiences, cultural dynamics, health inequalities, resiliency, and strengths of African American people and communities must all be understood through the Afrocentric lens present in Black Psychology. Having Black psychologists study Black people and related phenomenons encourages a view of resilience and resistance as opposed to a substandard deficit model of marginalization as was inherently present in traditional psychology from its inception. Studying Black Psychology encourages inclusivity, celebrates diversity, creates space for representation, recognizes the strength of the African American people as a whole and provides a deeper comprehension of human psychology, which is advantageous for both research and practice.

Black psychologists frequently research topics like the formation of racial identities, cultural adaptability, the results of systematic racism, and the impacts of socioeconomic inequality on mental health. In addition, Black Psychology emphasizes the resilience and strengths of African Americans as well as the value of cultural pride, community support, and cultural heritage in fostering psychological well-being. It aims to refute and eliminate the prejudices and restrictions of conventional psychological theories and research that frequently ignore or generalize African American experiences.

Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi)

Many are familiar with the American Psychological Association (APA) founded in 1892, but fewer people might be familiar with its history of purposely excluding Black scholarly research from being published in its journals, the fact that the organization promoted research that reflected its institutional racist beliefs about the communities of people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and it supported the perpetuation of false narratives of these communities as being unintelligent and less than human. Therefore, there was an obvious need for the creation of an association that reflected the values and interests of the Black community. In 1968, a group of Black psychologists led by Dr. Joseph White decided to split from the APA and form a new organization called the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) for the purpose of addressing inherent inequalities and issues in the field of psychology such as the lack of diversity of Black psychologists in the field, the inability to get the work of Black psychologist published in the APA and the methodology that the field of psychology used to look at Black people through an inferiority and deficit model.

The APA, which is presently under the leadership of a Black woman president Dr. Thema Bryant, released an apology in October 2021 for the institution's racist history and the extensive negative effects that its false research and narratives had on BIPOC communities. They have also published a Racial and Equity Plan with the purpose of addressing issues raised. Thus, it is imperative to have BIPOC psychologists researching their own communities and publishing their unbiased research through non Eurocentric paradigms because these research findings shape societal beliefs about BIPOC communities, influence laws and policies that are set into motion on a national and local level, and therefore have long lasting effects on all generations to come.

Approaches to the Field of Black Psychology

There are many ways to break down and understand Black Psychology and one approach to the field, which is stated clearly by South African decolonial psychologist Kopano Ratele, is that there are four different orientations in which to approach the discipline. There is the Psychology of Africa which centers around a universal psychology applicable to all people. There is also a Cultural African Psychology which focuses its study on the metaphysics, spirituality and culture of Africa. Thirdly, there is a Critical African Psychology which orients itself to focusing on politics, economy and material power. Lastly, there is an orientation known as Psychological African Studies which focuses on psychological perspectives on Africa as an object of study. It is important to note given the limited space of this introductory chapter, its main focus will examine African psychological concepts and phenomena derived within the United States as they apply to African Americans and Black people in the diaspora. However, the fluidity and interconnectedness of the issues brought up in Black Psychology does not allow for strict boundaries between these categories but rather to get a well rounded understanding of the strengths and issues faced by Black people, one would have to examine concepts from all four orientations. ^_[1]

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Endnotes

[1] Ratele, Kopano, “Four (African) psychologies,” Theory & Psychology 27, no. 3 (2017): 313–327.