Abstract
The history of African American discourse in psychology falls into three overlapping movements: (1) the Traditionalist School—relabeled as the Resistance School to better reflect the thrust of this movement, (2) the Reformist School, and (3) the Radicalist School (Karenga, 1993), or Banks’s (1982) typology—deconstructionists, reconstructionists, and constructionists, where the deconstructionists seek to reveal conceptual errors in Western psychology, the reconstructionists develop more relevant models, and the constructionists develop new models to advance knowledge (Piper-Mandy & Rowe, 2010). Banks’s primary argument is that although the methods and approaches varied in examining the experiences of and responses to African/Black life, the clear, consistent, and compelling aims were to humanize the lived realities of persons of African ancestry.
The first thrust (Negro Psychology) challenges how traditional psychology could explain African American behavior; it is more unconscious and emphasizes application of theory. The second thrust (Black Psychology) challenges traditional psychology based on understanding African American experience; it is conscious and highlights theory construction. Finally, the third thrust (Emerging African Psychology) challenges the philosophical assumptions on which all theory relating to persons of African ancestry is based; the challenge is self-conscious and focuses on theoretical principles, premises, and postulates (Piper-Mandy & Rowe, 2010). All three thrusts challenge Western psychological hegemony.
Summary of Key Contributors
White (1972) argued that the cultural experiences of persons of African ancestry in the United States demanded a shift in conceptualizing our psychology. Akbar (1991) argued that Afrocentricity involves the identification of the continuous ancient voice in its call to our realization of an authentic African people. Hilliard (1997) suggested that to reawaken the African mind, we must ensure that the goal of our educational and socialization processes is to live up to the principle of Ma’at, based on his study of ancient Kemetic principles and practices. Finally, Nobles (1985), argued that culture can be understood from two interwoven features: (1) cultural manifestations (the behaviors of a culture) and (2) cultural substance (the principles that govern the behaviors of a culture), giving culture its dynamic character. Cultural hegemony is based on the use of one cultural center to define and explain the behavior of another culture. African-centeredness refers to the cultural center of African cultures.
African American psychological discourse has had a single unbroken focus. Each school furthers the challenge to Western thought, starting with challenges to application, continuing with challenges to policy, and concluding with challenges to underlying principles.
African-Centered Metatheory
Asante (1987) argued that African ideals and values be placed at the center of discourse involving persons of African ancestry, culture, and behavior; and that Africans are subjects—not objects—in the examination of human ethos. Asante argues that the history, production, and place of African people has been defined and controlled by European and Euro-American interests and images, which forces Africans (and others) to have a false view of themselves and of their contribution to humanity. African-centered metatheory—a system of interlocking, mutually verifying constructs about the nature of human beingness and human functioning on which theory is constructed—is a development in the social sciences that addresses the specific sociocultural issues, contexts, strengths, and preferences associated with the distinguishing qualities of persons of African ancestry. African-centered metatheory explains how African-ancestry communities change, consistent with our worldviews. The identification of African ideals, images, and interests, codified in African worldviews, provides the only consistent template for understanding African reality.
The African Psychology Institute
Beginning in 1994, a model for training mental health professionals to work more effectively with African ancestry populations was developed by the African Psychology Institute (API; Rowe, 1994). The API has several aims: (1) to establish the requisite knowledge and skills for implementing African-centered psychology (ACP), (2) to structure and deliver an instructional curriculum in ACP, and (3) to certify psychologists to address the particular psychological needs of persona of African ancestry (Obasi, Speight, Rowe, Clark, & Turner-Essel, 2012). The API prepares current Black/African mental health professionals in the ongoing proposition of reclaiming, reconstructing, and restoring African wisdom to the development of African-centered healing arts; and produces and trains a new generation of African psychologists/healers.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.