Black Psychology Essay

Abstraction: This is an autobiographical essay where I briefly analyzes and interpret important and impactful events that has transpired over my last 20 old ages in my life from school to my community in Portland. Oregon. The aim of this essay is to link constructs and the class aims related to Black Psychology which I enrolled in at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University ( FAMU ) spring 2009 term. The lineation for this essay is in a chronological age order get downing from my birth in 1988 till my current experience at FAMU.

The book that is chiefly referenced in this essay is the Kobi K. Kambon text edition African/ Black Psychology in American Context: An African Centered Approach along with Joseph Baldwin’s category lectures that I attended. Divided Among two Different Positions of the World: But this is my Story The thought that a black individual is from Portland. Oregon seems to be flooring information for certain African-Americans. Once I introduce myself to new friends and professors who ne’er traveled to Portland or were ne’er informed that “Black people” live in Oregon.

Many are intrigued by this information and have a pursuit to cognize more. So to reply that inquiry. yes there are inkinesss who live in Oregon. I am a merchandise of Oregon I. Michelle Williams. was born and raised in the urban community in Portland amongst other African-Americans. One may presume that I had a hard clip turning up in Oregon. Experiencing favoritism. racism. or individuality crisis ; nevertheless. my six siblings and I ne’er did.

Get quality help now

WriterBelle

Verified

Proficient in: Human Nature

4.7 (657)

“ Really polite, and a great writer! Task done as described and better, responded to all my questions promptly too! ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Although. I did non see those types of issues. I understood that in Portland. the Black race was the minority and Europeans were the bulk in the race factor.

In add-on. make non presume that my household line of descent merely lines in Oregon. on both sides of my household southern roots run deep. Therefore. southern traditions. values. ethical motives. beliefs. and imposts were inbreeded into my up brings. Without inquiries. I am an Afro-american adult female from Portland. Oregon ; nevertheless. my geographic part does non specify my inkiness. nor does it find if I am capable of sing adversities like my fellow equals who were raised in Southern provinces.

In my early childhood. I resided with my maternal grandma due to my parent’s maltreatment to their environment and the usage of narcotics. However. my clip spent with my grandma was non in vena. yet filled with old ages of detecting and larning how to continue traditional southern values. which the modern universe of psychological science considers the “African/ Black Worldviews” . In the book. African/ Black Psychology in the American context: An African- Centered Approach Kobi K.

Kambon explains the difference between the African/ Black and European Worldviews. The four constituents that compose the worldviews are: cosmology. ontology. axiology. and epistemology ( Kambon. 1998 ) In the African/ Afro-american worldviews one are taught to believe in oneness/ harmoniousness with nature. endurance of the group. sameness ; whereas the European Worldview have the impression of endurance of the fittest. competiveness. independency. and uniqueness ( being different ) .

In my in-between childhood my parents redirected their life. and my female parent returned to college and obtained her unmarried mans and Masterss in Psychology with a child in Black Studies at Portland State University. While in school she begun to integrate her findings into her parenting. Although. my female parent and I were led by Eurocentric instructions. my household and our milieus reinforced the black/African-American Worldviews in the family. I recall myself accommodating to the political orientations and beliefs of those who were non within my ain autochthonal cultural group.

Kambon defines this experience as a black kid who has been influenced by Eurocentric instructions ensuing in “Abnormal Unnatural Circumstances” . The kid has accepted and identified him or herself as a member of a “group that is non autochthonal cultural world ( Kambon. 1998 ) . I was able to resile back to the normal-nature fortunes. with the aid of my Black community friends. and household through our ethical motives and beliefs. I had to remain true to my ain cultural world and non be amongst those who are “cultural mis-identified” .

An illustration of how I demonstrated unnatural unnatural fortunes was when I accepted the European doctrines and allowed the Whites to order and specify what was appropriate or rectify based off their criterions and positions on life. By this I allowed the impression that white Barbie dolls are better. instead than the Black China Doll my grandma purchased for Christmas one twelvemonth. While in in-between school. which is considered my late or pre-adolescence old ages. I was offered credence into the Talent and Gift besides known as the TAG plan.

The TAG plans awards and congratulates pupils “who demonstrated outstanding abilities or potencies in countries of general rational ability or specific ability aptitude” ( Davenport Community School Website ) . After detecting the truth in the Black Psychology class. I have come to the apprehension that this peculiar plan has several defects that discriminates against the Black race. The black pupils who excel above the criterions set for Blacks are called “Talented or Gifted” . In chapter eight it stated that “there was some Blacks who scored every bit high as White persons on Standard trials of alleged intelligence ( i. vitamin E research on Black “gifted” kids ) ” ( Kambon. 1998 ) .

The foundation of the Tag plan continues and supports “White Supremacy” . The definition the European psychologist usage to specify intelligence which were examined on Caucasians merely was: “ ( a ) the repertory of intellectual/cognitive accomplishments and cognition available to a individual at any one period of clip. or ( B ) the sum of planetary capacity of the person to move intentionally. to believe rationally. and to cover efficaciously with his/her environment” ( Kambon. 1998 ) .

The names of a twosome of tests that exemplified that one was intelligent were: The Alfred Binet and the Binet Test. besides known as Intelligence Quotient/ IQ. Charles Spearman with the GS Factor trial. and a few others ( Kambon. 1998 ) . Robert L. Williams the 2nd National Chairman/ President of American of Black Psychologists ( ABPsi ) ( Kambon. 1998 ) . developed a “Black “cultural specific” intelligence trial which demonstrated that Blacks could execute high quality to White persons on such a Black cultural based trial.

The trial was called Black Intelligence Test for Cultural Homogeneity” officially known as “BITCH’ . His intelligence trial showcased that Afro-american pupils were out executing Whites by 30 to 50 points ( Kambon. 1998 ) . In dealingss to my credence to the TAG plan I felt a sense of being privileged. superior. and connected to the white race in some sense. I belittled my equals who the Europeans and the trial scored them as being underperformers. Through my actions I had continued on the European worldviews.

The people see the good that the TAG plan promotes ; nevertheless. there are down sides and negative features of being called a “Talented or Gifted” kid. In my early adolescence old ages. I was considered at times a pupil who could be insubordinate. disrespectful. and riotous in category. However. my actions were to dispute an inquiry my teacher’s doctrine about Western History. colonisation in Africa. bondage. and anything that focused on the Black race. Now looking back on what transpired in high school I was seeking to detect the truth sing my peoples.

I tried to unknot the muss that the Europeans. Western historiographers. philosophers. and psychologist created. Removing the blind folds that had been placed over my eyes through the European instructions ; I was tired of having the edited. shorten. and beautified narrative the instructors and academic course of study spoon-feed me every twelvemonth during the one month Blacks are allowed to observe their history ( February ) . I have come to accept that cognition is cardinal and discovered like John Henrik Clarke that. “African History/ Negro History are the losing pages of World History” ( John Henrik Clarke. 1996 ) .

In chapter three of Kambon books. he explains this thought of cultural world and worldviews concept. and how “ones ideas beliefs. values and actions are non unambiguously our ain. distinguishable and separate from those of others. peculiarly other individuals” ( Kambon. 119 ) . In today’s society we accept as true that European’s set the criterions or dictated/ guide one to believe that their ways of life and making things are how things ought to be done ; continues white domination.

I am now in my 3rd twelvemonth at FAMU as a nursing major interested in psychological science. following sibling’s footfalls of go toing a Historical Black University. My journey in the Black Psychology has taught me new things about my personality and where I come from. In my sentiment Oregon is a diverse and complex province. I had adopted and balanced the different worldviews. From my secondary instruction I have come to a new found cognition about this Black Psychology and it’s endeavoring for flawlessness in the Black communities.

I have come to understand that my people are from the Southern or African Cradle. which developed before the Northern or European Cradle a theoretical account Diop ( Kambon. 1998 ) . I am from the line of descent of ill-famed Pharaoh’s and Queens such as Narmar. Pharaoh and Queen who whore the ruddy and white Crown Hatshepsut ( Abarry. 1996 ) . For old ages information has been hidden and sheltered from my equals and I. Not merely from the African descendants in Oregon. but from all of the descendants of Africa has that populated the 50 provinces in America.

I have learned that I am a descendent of great Queens and Kings and African’s who were educated. governed themselves. ran a successful economic system that was developed in many facets before the 1500’s when Europeans arrived. Ancient Kemit ( KMT ) and the Ma’at which is the foundation in which the KMT people lived by ( Abarry. 1996 ) . I have grown accustomed to both Western and this new psychological science called “Black Psychology” . I am able to detect and to the full understand and acknowledge the class objectives in Black Psychology because I have been in the ream of both universes.

My parents were educated and merchandises of the early 60’s ; where there was a big motion on civil rights and black psychologist doing a alteration for the black community. Such as the Pan-African Cultural patriotism motion group who where “Black Psychologist who advocate that race and civilization are the foundation of African self-identity and psychological well being” ( Kambon. 1998 ) . Black psychological science has made enormous achievements ; they have challenged the ideals and political orientations of Western Psychology. Rather than being the blinded trial mice used in Western Psychology. Black psychologist has made a grade in Psychology.

There has been a creative activity of Psychology geared to the Blacks. They have developed an impressive column diary that comes out quarterly called The Journal of Black Psychology which has been around for about 35 old ages ( Kambon. 1996 ) . The members of the Association of Black Psychologist have overcome many obstructions that have been presented in forepart of them. and will go on to make so for following old ages to come ( Kamon. 1998 ) . I find that my head was one time held prisoner in a sense. before I entered college under Europocentric instructions.

I upheld the thoughts of Eurocentric instructions. yet the position quo has changed ; in favour for the Black Race. and my cognitive for that affair. In today’s society black kids are taught by a Eurocentric instruction. where there is a mis-education which manifests itself in the Eurocentric conceptual captivity ( Kambon. 1998 ) . The portrayal the European psychologists painted through their positions and surveies of the black race. personality. mental wellness. and behavioural jobs have non reflected the Black people in anyhow. On the contrary it has caused a separation between inkinesss.

Those who believed in altering the psychological science universe for the black race have succeeded at establishing its topographic point and did non let the criterions set by Western Psychology to be the foundation for Black Psychology ( Kambon. 1996 ) . Today the black’s can see the ‘great deepness of the Eurocentric cultural captivity that encapsulates African rational consciousness and scholarship. ” ( Kambon. 1998 ) . Which has caused a developmental job of the cognition of the African/ black race. From the motive of Francis Cecil Sumner. Herman G. Canady. Robert L. Williams. Marcus Gravey. Nat Turners. W.

E. B Dubois. Frances Cress Welsing. and the 1000s of members of the Association of Black Psychology. there is a psychological science that focuses on the black community which is non defined by the Western Psychology criterions. It is up to pupils like me to use the indispensable tools from classs like Black Psychology. and turn a deaf ear to the myths and misdirecting information that the Western Psychology one time succeeded at imprisoning. This was my experience from turning up in Portland. Oregon and doing a much demand journey to Florida A & A ; M University which landed me a place in Dr.

Joseph Baldwin class Black Psychology. References Abarry. S. . Asante. M. . ( 1996 ) . African rational Heritiage. Philadelphia. PA: Temple Press A Great and Might Walk. Dir. St. Claire Bourne. Perf. Wesley Snipes John Henrik Clarke. 1996. Bourne. C. [ Westley Snipes ] ( 1996 ) : Los Angles Davenport Community School Website. ( 1998. Aug ) . Retrieved Mar. 09. 2009. from hypertext transfer protocol: //www. Davenport. k12. Iowa. us/curriculum/gifted. asp Kambon. K. ( 1998 ) . African/ black psychological science in the American context: an african- centered attack. Tallahassee. Sunshine state: Nubian Nation Publication.