Joseph White (psychologist) facts for kids

Joseph L. White (born December 19, 1932 – died November 21, 2017) was a very important Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry. He taught at the University of California, Irvine. Many people called him the "godfather" of Black Psychology. This means he was a key leader in creating and developing this field of study.

Early Life and Family

Joseph White was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, on December 19, 1932. When he was very young, his family moved to Minneapolis. After finishing high school, his mother sent him to San Francisco to live with his aunt. Joseph first planned to work as a waiter. But his aunt, Reverend Margaret Brown, encouraged him to go to college instead.

Joseph had three children, Lori, Lisa, and Lynn, with his first wife, Myrtle Escort White. Later, he married Lois White, and they were together for over thirty years.

Joseph White passed away on November 21, 2017. He had a heart attack on a plane while flying to visit his family in St. Louis, Missouri, for Thanksgiving.

Education Journey

Joseph White earned his first degree (BA) from San Francisco State University. He then got his PhD in clinical psychology from Michigan State University in 1961. When he started at San Francisco State, college was very cheap. It cost only $14.25 to enroll! If students didn't have the money right away, they could promise to pay later.

Joseph was a good athlete in high school. This helped him get a job at a city playground. It was there that he discovered his love for psychology. He became very interested in how the mind works, especially the unconscious mind. This was one of his first steps into the world of psychology.

After San Francisco State, White served in the military for two years. He didn't get into graduate school right away. Luckily, San Francisco State was starting a Master's program. They accepted him and helped him get into a PhD program. Two years later, he was accepted at Michigan State.

White remembered that some people in psychology were unsure about him. He was the only Black student in the program. Some thought Black students couldn't handle advanced graduate work. He tried to skip some required classes because of his earlier studies. But Michigan State didn't allow it. Even so, he did very well. He had taken many classes in his major at San Francisco State. Because of this, he ended up at the top of his class at Michigan State.

Making a Difference in His Career

Even though his main study was clinical psychology, Dr. White worked hard to help students of color. He wanted to make sure they could get a good education. He created new ways of teaching that fit the needs of these students. White believed that the usual education standards, based on white middle-class ideas, were not fair.

While at California State University, Long Beach, White helped start the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP). This program helps students from disadvantaged backgrounds go to college. EOP became a program used across all California State University campuses.

In 1968, Dr. White helped create the Association of Black Psychologists. He and other Black psychologists formed it during a conference. They felt that psychology needed to change. White said, "We cannot depend on them to define us. We have to take charge and define ourselves. We need to build our own psychology." This quote shows their belief that Black people needed to create their own understanding of psychology.

Around the same time, White was a professor and dean. He listened to students' needs. He helped set up the first Black Studies Program at San Francisco State University during the 1968 student strike.

Besides his research, Joseph White was also a practicing psychologist. He worked as a psychologist for five hospitals and three clinics in Southern California. He also advised school districts, universities, and government groups.

"Toward a Black Psychology"

In 1970, Joseph White wrote an important article called "Toward a Black Psychology." It was published in Ebony Magazine. This article was a major step in creating African-American Psychology as a real field of study. It also helped grow the idea of ethnic and cultural psychology.

The article explained that a psychology created by white people could not fully understand African Americans. Dr. White said that using mainstream white psychology on Black people often focused only on their weaknesses. It didn't give a true picture of their situation. He argued that a new approach was needed to truly understand Black people.

Awards and Recognition

Dr. White received many honors for his work. In 1994, President Bill Clinton gave him an award for his achievements in psychology and community service. In 2007, the University of Minnesota gave him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Joseph White was a Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine. He spent most of his career there. Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. also made him chairman of the California State Psychology Licensing Board. He served in this role for three years. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Menninger Foundation.

On May 23, 2008, San Francisco State University honored Joseph L. White as their Alumnus of the Year. The University of Minnesota's Board of Regents also gave him the honorary Doctor of Laws degree. This is the highest award given to people who have achieved great things in culture, public service, or knowledge. In April 2017, Dr. White received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Psychological Association.

Published Works

• The Psychology of Blacks: An African-American Perspective with Thomas Anthony Parham, Prentice Hall, 1990, ISBN: 0-13-733791-4, ISBN: 978-0-13-733791-0
• The Troubled Adolescent, Joseph L. White, Pergamon Press, 1989 ISBN: 0-08-036820-4, ISBN: 978-0-08-036820-7
• Black Man Emerging: Facing the Past and Seizing a Future in America with James H. Cones, Routledge, 1999, ISBN: 0-415-92572-X, 9780415925723
• The psychology of Blacks: an African-centered perspective, with Thomas Anthony Parham, Adisa Ajamu, Prentice Hall, 1999, ISBN: 0-13-095946-4, ISBN: 978-0-13-095946-1
• Black Fathers: An Invisible Presence in America, with Michael E. Connor, Routledge, 2006, ISBN: 0-8058-4510-0, ISBN: 978-0-8058-4510-5
• Building Multicultural Competency: Development, Training, and Practice, with Sheila Henderson, Rowman & Littlefield, 2008, ISBN: 0-7425-6420-7, ISBN: 978-0-7425-6420-6