Albert Sidney Beckham

Albert Sidney Beckham (1897-1964) was the first African-American to hold the title “school psychologist,”¹ and the third to receive a PhD in psychology.² He was the first psychology professor at Howard University, where he taught every psychology course and established its first psychology lab.^1,2,5 He also helped establish a psychological clinic at DuSable High School in Chicago, which was one of the first psychological clinics in a public school in the United States.^1,2,5

Beckham’s work focused on intelligence and behavioral disorders. In particular, he sought to dispel the myth that IQ tests and the prevalence of certain behavioral disorders could “prove” the racial inferiority of African-Americans and other races.^2,3,4 (Using pseudoscientific methods to justify racial discrimination, or “scientific racism”, was widespread.⁴) He stressed that many of the observed results did not reflect inherent racial differences, but differences in the environments and resources African-American children had available to them.^2,3,4 In over 20 published academic articles, he studied how these inequalities affected children’s performance in school and on IQ tests.^1,2,4,5 In his private practice, he tried to provide these same children with the resources they needed to succeed in school and beyond.⁵ All in all, Beckham was a leader in the fight against  scientific racism and helped set the stage for future generations of African-American psychologists.⁴