Albert Sidney Beckham (1897–1964) was the first African American to hold the title of

school psychologist School psychology is a field that applies principles from educational psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, community psychology, and behavior analysis to meet the learning and behavioral health needs of children and adole ...

. He was a pioneering African American psychologist specializing in

educational psychology Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences i ...

and made significant contributions to the base of knowledge about the racial intelligence score disparity. Additionally, he taught in the

New York public school system The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

and was a professor at

Wilberforce University Wilberforce University is a private historically black university in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. It participates in t ...

and

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

. He served the Chicago school district as their first African American school psychologist.

Education

At the age of fifteen, Beckham enrolled at Lincoln University and was a fellow student of

Francis Sumner Francis Cecil Sumner (December 7, 1895 – January 11, 1954) was an American leader in education reform. He is commonly referred to as the "Father of Black Psychology." He is primarily known for being the first African American to receive a Ph. ...

, who would become the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology. In 1915 Beckham graduated with a BA in psychology and began graduate study at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

the same year. While at Ohio State, he earned a second bachelor's degree in 1916 and a master's degree in psychology in 1917. From 1917 to 1920, Beckham served as an assistant professor of psychology at

. In 1921, Beckham began his doctoral studies at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

but transferred to

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

(NYU) because there was more financial aid available at NYU. In 1924, Beckham suspended his doctoral studies to accept an instructor position, and later an assistant professor, at

, becoming the first person to teach psychology at the institution, and also opened the university's first psychology lab. After five years at Howard University, He went back to NYU to finish his doctorate.

Career and legacy

Beckham's scholarly work largely focused on education; however, he also conducted studies on topics such as

albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

narcolepsy Narcolepsy is a long-term neurological disorder that involves a decreased ability to regulate sleep–wake cycles. Symptoms often include periods of excessive daytime sleepiness and brief involuntary sleep episodes. About 70% of those affec ...

, race attitudes, and life satisfaction. Beckham was a pioneer in the field of

Black psychology Black psychology, also known as African-American psychology and African/Black psychology, is a scientific field that focuses on how people of African descent know and experience the world. The field, particularly in the United States, largely emerge ...

and among the first African Americans to earn a PhD in psychology. He was a professor at Wilberforce University and Howard University and provided guidance to thousands of students in the Chicago public school system. Beckham spent most of his life fighting against discrimination of African American children, and hoped to use scientific research to bring equality between the races. Much of his research was around the topic of intelligence, especially in African American adolescents. Beckham's research into this field found that the largest influences on intelligence were socio-economic background and the child's environment. Beckham was just one of several African American researchers testing African American intelligence, in order to provide evidence against claims made by anti-African American propaganda. Working in Chicago, Beckham had access to a large population of African American children. He worked with the Institute of Juvenile Research to help understand the roots of juvenile delinquency. It was Beckham's belief that with the correct therapy, and an early behavioral diagnosis many juvenile children could have been helped from having any criminal record. Beckham also goes on to state in one of his publications, that juvenile delinquency could be severely reduced if individuals went off of scientific research rather than perceived stereotypes.

Selected works

Beckham, A. S. (1924). Applied eugenics
''Crisis'', ''28(1)''
','' 177–178. Beckham, A. S. (1929). Is the Negro happy? ''Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology'', ''24''(2), 186–190. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0072938 Beckham, A. S. (1930). ''A study of intelligence of colored adolescents of different economic and social status in typical metropolitan areas'' octoral dissertation, New York Universitybr>https://library.nyu.edu
Beckham, A. S. (1931). Juvenile delinquency and the Negro
''Opportunity'', ''9''
300–302. Beckham, A. (1932). The Negro child of pre-school age. ''The Southern Workman, 61'', 221–226. Beckham, A. S. (1932). Race and intelligence. ''Opportunity'', ''10'', 240–242. Beckham, A. S. (1933). A study of the intelligence of colored adolescents of different social-economic status in typical metropolitan areas. ''The Journal of Social Psychology'', ''4''(1), 70–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.1933.9921558 Beckham, A. S., (1933). Over-Suggestibility in Juvenile Delinquency. ''The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology'', ''28''(2), 172–178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0070124 Beckham, A. S., & Israeli, N. (1933). Political, racial, and differential psychology. ''The Journal of Social Psychology'', ''4'', 1. Beckham, A. S. (1934). A study of race attitudes in negro children of adolescent age. ''Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology'', ''29''(1), 18–29. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0070753 Beckham, A. S. (1939). The intelligence of a Negro high school population in a Northern city. ''The Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology'', ''54''(2), 327–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856559.1939.10534339 Beckham, A. S. (1942). A study of social background and art aptitude of superior Negro children. ''Journal of Applied Psychology, 26''(6), 777. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0056017 Beckham, A. S. (1942). A study of social background and music ability of superior Negro children. ''Journal of Applied Psychology'', ''26''(2), 210–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054822 Beckham, A. S. (1946). Albinism in Negro children. ''The Pedagogical Seminary and Journal of Genetic Psychology'', ''69''(2), 199–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856559.1946.10533389

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckham, Albert Sidney 1897 births 1964 deaths People from Camden, South Carolina 20th-century American psychologists Special education in the United States Special educators American educational psychologists