Black Psychology Essay

Abstr deport This is an autobiographical try on where I briefly analyzes and interpret significant and impactful events that has transpired everyplace my last 20 y spindles in my life from schooltime to my community in Portland, Oregon. The objective of this essay is to connect c oncepts and the race objectives related to color psychological science which I enrolled in at Florida Agri heathen and machine want University (FAMU) spring 2009 term. The forbiddenline for this essay is in a chronological age localise starting from my birth in 1988 cashbox my current experience at FAMU.The bear that is mainly referenced in this essay is the Kobi K. Kambon textbook African/ coloured psychology in American Context An African Centered Approach along with Joseph Baldwins class lectures that I attended. Divided Among dickens Different Views of the World But this is my fiction The estimate that a dispirited soulfulness is from Portland, Oregon matchms to be shocking culture fo r certain Afro-Americans. Once I clear myself to young friends and professors who never traveled to Portland or were never informed that smuggled con melodic phrase live in Oregon.Mevery argon intrigued by this information and assimilate a quest to know more. So to say that question, yes there atomic number 18 opprobriouss who live in Oregon. I am a fruit of Oregon I, Michelle Williams, was born and raised in the urban community in Portland amongst different African-Americans. One may assume that I had a difficult epoch growth up in Oregon. Experiencing discrimination, racism, or identity operator crisis however, my six siblings and I never did. Although, I did not experience those types of issues, I gain that in Portland, the low-spirited race was the nonage and Europeans were the majority in the race factor.In addition, do not assume that my family melodic line only lines in Oregon, on two sides of my family southerly roots run deep. Therefore, southern tradit ions, values, morals, beliefs, and customs were inbreeded into my up brings. Without questions, I am an African-American woman from Portland, Oregon however, my geographic region does not decide my melaniseness, nor does it assure if I am capable of experiencing hardships care my fellow peers who were raised in southerly states.In my early youngsterhood, I resided with my agnate grand give due to my pargonnts abuse to their milieu and the use of narcotics. However, my time spent with my grandmother was not in vein, yet filled with years of observing and learning how to uphold traditional southern values, which the modern world of psychological science considers the African/ scorch Worldviews. In the book, African/ saturnine Psychology in the American mount An African- Centered Approach Kobi K.Kambon explains the difference surrounded by the African/ benighted and European Worldviews. The intravenous feeding comp wiznts that compose the worldviews ar cosmology, ontolog y, axiology, and epistemology (Kambon, 1998) In the African/ African-American worldviews bingle are taught to commit in oneness/ harmony with nature, endurance of the gathering, sameness whereas the European Worldview view the whimsicality of survival of the fittest, competiveness, independence, and uniqueness ( macrocosm different).In my oculus childhood my parents redirected their life, and my mother returned to college and obtained her bachelors and masters in Psychology with a minor in Black Studies at Portland State University. go in school she begun to incorporate her findings into her parenting. Although, my mother and I were led by Europocentric teachings, my family and our surroundings reinforced the calamitous/African-American Worldviews in the household. I recall myself adapting to the ideologies and beliefs of those who were not within my own indigenous cultural group.Kambon defines this experience as a calamitous child who has been influenced by Europocentr ic teachings resulting in Abnormal Unnatural Circumstances. The child has accepted and identified him or herself as a member of a group that is not indigenous cultural righteousness (Kambon, 1998). I was able to bounce impale to the normal-nature circumstances, with the help of my Black community friends, and family by means of our morals and beliefs. I had to stay real to my own cultural reality and not be amongst those who are cultural mis-identified.An cause of how I demonstrated abnormal touched circumstances was when I accepted the European philosophies and allowed the colours to dictate and define what was appropriate or correct based off their standards and views on life. By this I allowed the notion that tweedn Barbie dolls are better, rather than the Black chinaware Doll my grandmother purchased for Christmas one year. time in middle school, which is considered my late or pre-adolescence years, I was offered acceptance into the Talent and chip in also known as the get across program.The shack programs honors and congratulates students who demonstrated outstanding abilities or potentials in areas of general intellectual office or specific ability adroitness (Davenport Community direct Website). After discoering the justness in the Black Psychology course, I lease espouse to the understanding that this position program has several flaws that discriminates against the Black race. The contraband students who excel above the standards notice for Blacks are called Talented or Gifted. In chapter eight it stated that there was somewhat Blacks who scored as high as Whites on Standard tests of so-called parole (i.e look into on Black gifted children) (Kambon, 1998).The inception of the Tag program continues and supports White mastery. The definition the European psychologist use to define intelligence which were examined on Caucasians only was (a) the repertoire of intellectual/cognitive skills and cognition unattached to a person at any one period of time, or (b) the conglomeration of global capacity of the individual to act purposely, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his/her environment (Kambon,1998).The names of a couple of exams that exemplified that one was intelligent were The Alfred Binet and the Binet Test, also known as Intelligence Quotient/ IQ, Charles Spearman with the GS Factor test, and a fewer others (Kambon, 1998). Robert L. Williams the second National Chairman/ president of American of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) (Kambon, 1998), developed a Black cultural specific intelligence test which demonstrated that Blacks could perform superiority to Whites on such a Black cultural based test.The test was called Black Intelligence Test for Cultural homogeneity formally known as complain. His intelligence test showcased that African-American students were out performing whites by 30 to 50 points (Kambon, 1998). In relations to my acceptance to the TAG program I felt a sense of mac rocosm privileged, superior, and connected to the white race in some sense. I belittled my peers who the Europeans and the test scored them as cosmos underachievers. Through my actions I had continued on the European worldviews.The volume see the legal that the TAG program promotes however, there are down sides and negative characteristics of being called a Talented or Gifted child. In my early adolescence years, I was considered at multiplication a student who could be insubordinate, disrespectful, and turbulent in class. However, my actions were to challenge an question my instructors philosophy about westbound narration, colonization in Africa, slavery, and anything that focused on the Black race. Now looking can on what transpired in high school I was trying to discover the truth regarding my peoples.I tried to unravel the location that the Europeans, Western historians, philosophers, and psychologist created. Removing the blind folds that had been placed over my eyes through the European teachings I was tired of receiving the edited, shorten, and beautified story the teachers and academic curriculum spoon-feed me every year during the one month Blacks are allowed to celebrate their history (February). I have deal to accept that knowledge is key and discovered like derriere Henrik Clarke that, African archives/ Negro History are the missing pages of World History (John Henrik Clarke, 1996).In chapter three of Kambon books, he explains this idea of cultural reality and worldviews construct, and how ones thoughts beliefs, values and actions are not uniquely our own, distinct and spot from those of others, particularly other individuals (Kambon, 119). In at presents society we accept as true that Europeans fit(p) the standards or dictated/ guide one to believe that their ways of living and doing things are how things ought to be done continues white supremacy.I am now in my tertiary year at FAMU as a nursing major interested in psychology, following siblings footsteps of attend a Historical Black University. My locomoteing in the Black Psychology has taught me new things about my personality and where I come from. In my opinion Oregon is a diverse and complex state. I had take and balanced the different worldviews. From my secondary reading I have come to a new found knowledge about this Black Psychology and its variant for perfection in the Black communities.I have come to understand that my people are from the Southern or African Cradle, which developed ahead the Northern or European Cradle a mannikin Diop (Kambon, 1998). I am from the lineage of notorious Pharaohs and Queens such as Narmar, Pharaoh and Queen who whore the red and white crown Hatshepsut (Abarry, 1996). For years information has been isolated and sheltered from my peers and I. Not only from the African descendents in Oregon, but from all of the descendents of Africa has that live the 50 states in America.I have learned that I am a descend ant of great Queens and Kings and Africans who were educated, governed themselves, ran a successful scrimping that was developed in many aspects in front the 1500s when Europeans arrived. Ancient Kemit (KMT) and the Maat which is the arse in which the KMT people lived by (Abarry, 1996). I have grown change to both Western and this new psychology called Black Psychology. I am able to observe and fully understand and acknowledge the course objectives in Black Psychology because I have been in the ream of both worlds.My parents were educated and products of the early 60s where there was a bad movement on civil rights and corrosive psychologist fashioning a change for the black community. Such as the Pan-African Cultural patriotism movement group who where Black Psychologist who aid that race and culture are the foundation of African self-identity and psychological well being (Kambon, 1998). Black psychology has made dangerous accomplishments they have challenged the ideals and ideologies of Western Psychology. Rather than being the blinded test mice used in Western Psychology, Black psychologist has made a mark in Psychology.There has been a creation of Psychology geared to the Blacks. They have developed an impressive editorial journal that comes out quarterly called The Journal of Black Psychology which has been around for about 35 years (Kambon, 1996). The members of the Association of Black Psychologist have overcome many obstacles that have been presented in front of them, and will continue to do so for following years to come (Kamon, 1998). I find that my mind was once held captive in a sense, before I entered college under Eurocentric teachings.I upheld the ideas of Eurocentric teachings, yet the status quo has changed in favor for the Black Race, and my cognitive for that matter. In todays society black children are taught by a Eurocentric teaching, where there is a mis-education which manifests itself in the Eurocentric conceptual incarceration (Kambon, 1998). The portrait the European psychologists painted through their views and studies of the black race, personality, psychogenic health, and behavioral problems have not reflected the Black people in anyway. On the setback it has caused a separation between blacks.Those who believed in changing the psychology world for the black race have succeeded at establishment its place and did not allow the standards set by Western Psychology to be the foundation for Black Psychology (Kambon, 1996). instantly the blacks can see the great depth of the Eurocentric cultural incarceration that encapsulates African intellectual thought and scholarship. (Kambon,1998). Which has caused a developmental problem of the knowledge of the African/ black race. From the motivation of Francis Cecil Sumner, Herman G. Canady, Robert L. Williams, Marcus Gravey, Nat Turners, W.E. B Dubois, Frances Cress Welsing, and the thousands of members of the Association of Black Psychology, there is a psych ology that focuses on the black community which is not defined by the Western Psychology standards. It is up to students like me to utilize the essential tools from courses like Black Psychology, and turn a deaf ear to the myths and misleading information that the Western Psychology once succeeded at incarcerating. This was my experience from suppuration up in Portland, Oregon and making a much need journey to Florida A&M University which come me a seat in Dr.Joseph Baldwin course Black Psychology. References Abarry, S. , Asante, M. ,(1996). African intellectual Heritiage. Philadelphia, PA Temple Press A groovy 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 http//www. davenport. k12. ia. us/curriculum/gifted. asp Kambon, K. (1998). African/ black psychology in the American context an african- centered approach. Tallah assee, Fl Nubian Nation Publication.