Albert Sidney Beckham
Intro
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
It will be valuable to know if these [segregated] schools and similar schools might profit by a wise consideration of economic-social status in the organization of courses of study.3
About the Authors
Dan Pilat
Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.
Dr. Sekoul Krastev
Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.
