BPS Core Textbooks Series

Developed in collaboration with the British Psychological Society

Chapter 34 – “This Is Who I Am”: Black Psychology and Critical Race Theory’s Unfinished Revolution

Chapter Summary

This chapter explores the critical intersection between Black psychology and Critical Race Theory (CRT), tracing how both have challenged psychology’s complicity in systems of racial oppression. Starting with the pseudo-diagnosis of ‘excited delirium’, the chapter illustrates how psychology has not only reflected but helped construct racial hierarchies. It shows how the diagnostic language of the discipline has too often pathologised Black lives while claiming neutrality. Black psychology emerges as a revolutionary field, redefining the foundations of psychological thought. It offers alternative ways of knowing grounded in community, culture, resistance, and spirituality. The chapter introduces key figures, including Frantz Fanon, Na’im Akbar, Beverly Greene, and Tommy Curry, whose work exemplifies the ongoing struggle for epistemic and ontological justice. CRT provides the critical lens to examine structural racism, interest convergence, and the power of counter-storytelling in psychology. Ultimately, this chapter positions Black psychology as a moral, political, and intellectual revolution in the discipline. It invites students to engage with psychology as a practice shaped by power, history, and the demand for justice.

Chapter 34 – Quiz

  • Chapter 34 – Flashcards

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  • Chapter 34 – Key Readings

    Chakrabarty, N., Roberts, L., & Preston, J. (2014). Critical race theory in England. Routledge. 

    Delgado, R., Harris, A., & Stefancic, J. (2023). Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. (4th Edition). New York University Press.  

    Fielder, T. (2021). Psychoanalysis and anti-racism in mid-20th-century America: An alternative angle of vision. History of the Human Sciences, 35(3-4), 193-217. https://doi.org/10.1177/09526951211042784 

    Flack, C. E., Whipple, C. R., & Robinson, W. L. (2025). A social-contextual analysis of African American adolescents’ coping self-efficacy. School Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000709 

    Hochman, A. (2025). The race illusion: on the reality of racialization and the myth of race. Oxford University Press. 

    Jones, R. L. (2004). Black psychology (4th ed). Cobb & Henry Publishers. 

    Nobles, W. W. (2006). Seeking the sakhu: Foundational writings for an African psychology (1st ed). Third World Press. 

    Nwoye, A. (2017). African psychology and the emergence of the Madiban tradition. Theory & Psychology, 28(1), 38-64. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354317742204  

    Oppong, S. (2022). Indigenous psychology in Africa: Centrality of culture, misunderstandings, and global positioning. Theory & Psychology, 32(6), 953-973. https://doi.org/10.1177/09593543221097334  

    Pettit, M. (2024). The racial economy of psychological care: Professionalism, social justice, and political action during american psychology’s communitarian moment. History of Psychology, 27(3), 203–226. https://doi.org/10.1037/hop0000259 

    Pettit, M. (2022). “Angela’s psych squad”: Black psychology against the American carceral state in the 1970s. Journal of the History of the Behavioural Sciences, 58, 365–382. https://doi.org/10.1002/jhbs.22216 

    Richards, G. (1997). ‘Race’, racism, and psychology: Towards a reflexive history. Routledge. 

    Sawyer, T. F. (2000). Francis Cecil Sumner: His views and influence on African American higher education. History of Psychology, 3(2), 122–141. https://doi.org/10.1037/1093-4510.3.2.122 

    Wynter, R., Campbell, N., Chaney, S., & Marks, S. (2025). The persistence of history: Racism, anti-Blackness, and the causes of mental ill health, c.1800–2020. History of the Human Sciences, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1177/09526951251331378

  • Chapter 34 – Reflective Questions

    1. What does Black psychology reveal about the relationship between science and power? 
    2. In what ways does Critical Race Theory challenge the idea of objectivity in psychological research? 
    3. How have key figures in Black psychology used cultural traditions, spirituality, and community as forms of resistance? 
    4. What does the case of Daniel Prude illustrate about the stakes of psychological diagnosis? 
    5. How can psychology be reimagined to centre justice, lived experience, and liberation?

  • Chapter 34 – Weblinks

    ABPsi (Educational Resource)

    https://abpsi.org

    This website is the official site of ABPsi, or The Association of Black Psychologists, offering many resources, publications and updates on ongoing work of Black Psychologists, as well as providing the history of the organisation and its goals for the future of the field.

    Apology to People of Color for APA’s Role in Promoting, Perpetuating, and Failing to Challenge Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Human Hierarchy in U.S. – American Psychological Association

    https://www.apa.org/about/policy/racism-apology

    This page shows students the official apology issues by the American Psychological Association for its role in perpetuating and promoting racism through historical works and showing students an example of what it can look like when an organisation attempts to take accountability for the very real damage done by ingrained racism to the field of Psychology.

    Ethnic Identity Development (Nigrescence) – YouTube Presentation (Educational Resource)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wlS8uoo09c

    This 19-minute YouTube video summarises the works of Dr. William Cross, discussing the psychology of becoming black in a societal and psychological context. The video is accessible and easy-to-understand, giving students an easy baseline for their understanding of the topic.

    BlackPast (Archival Resource)

    https://www.blackpast.org

    This website provides an encyclopaedic database of information on African American history, including biographies and cultural movements for students to engage with.

    Pivotal moments: Psychology’s long journey toward racial justice – American Psychological Association (Educational Resource)

    https://www.apa.org/monitor/2022/03/special-report-pivotal-moments

    This webpage gives students a timeline of pivotal events in the history of the APA specifically focused on racial injustices and the journey to achieving some forms of justice later in the life of the organisation.

    Project LETS (Educational Resource)

    https://projectlets.org

    This webpage gives information on the history and current works of the organisation, discussing how it offers peer-led mental health support grounded in an anti-racism perspective, and advocating for disability justice.