Joyce Hamilton Berry facts for kids

Joyce Hamilton Berry was born in 1937. She is an American clinical psychologist who has her own practice in the Washington D.C. area. Dr. Berry grew up during a time when there was segregation in the United States. This meant that Black and white people were often kept separate in public places.

She went to graduate school when the Civil Rights Movement was very active. This movement worked to end segregation and gain equal rights for African Americans. In 1970, Joyce Hamilton Berry made history. She became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky. She was married to David Berry, who was also from Kentucky.

Dr. Berry has written for many popular magazines. These include Ebony and Essence. She has also appeared on TV shows, like The Geraldo Rivera Show, to share her expert advice.

Early Life and Education

Joyce Hamilton was born in 1937 in Lexington, Kentucky. She grew up in a neighborhood that is now called the Martin Luther King Jr. neighborhood. Her grandfather, Charles Hamilton, owned his own land in central Kentucky. Her father owned a barber shop, and her mother was a homemaker.

Joyce lived in a house her father owned at 260 East 4th Street. She loved learning and was a very good student. She attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Lexington, Kentucky). She graduated early when she was just fifteen years old.

Her parents always encouraged her and her brother to work hard in school. But her drive to succeed also came from the larger African-American community. Local newspapers used to publish a section called "Colored News and Notes." This section shared news about the Black community, including the honor roll from the high school.

Joyce remembers one time she didn't make the honor roll. Every neighbor in her community asked her about it. She didn't want that to happen again. So, she worked even harder and always made the honor roll after that.

Important Influences in Her Life

Joyce's parents encouraged her to attend Hampton Institute. They discussed her career choice, and she decided to become a teacher. John Smith, who was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. from the University of Kentucky, was her English teacher at Dunbar High School. He also greatly influenced her goals for education.

Her parents also helped her develop strong self-confidence. Once, she wanted to join a civil rights protest. This protest was against segregation in public places in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. Her father asked her why she would want to spend her money in a place where she wasn't welcome. This made her think twice about joining public protests in the 1960s. However, it did not stop her from strongly supporting civil rights for African Americans.

Her College and Graduate Studies

Joyce attended Hampton Institute, which is now called Hampton University. She graduated with a major in English. While in Virginia, she experienced segregation on a much larger scale. Unlike her hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, the buses in Virginia were segregated. Black passengers had to pay at the front, then walk to the back of the bus to enter. After this first experience, she never rode a bus in Virginia again.

After graduating from Hampton, she returned home. She taught school in Lancaster, Kentucky, and at her old high school, Dunbar High School. In 1962, she started graduate school at the University of Kentucky. She earned her master's degree in 1964. Then, in 1970, she became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Kentucky.

She worked briefly as a faculty member at Kentucky State University. After that, she moved to Columbia, Maryland.

Helping Her Community

Dr. Berry helped her community in many ways during the Civil Rights Movement. She was a member of important groups like the Congress of Racial Equality and the Urban League. As a graduate student at the University of Kentucky and later as a social services worker, she often spoke out. She spoke against discrimination based on her race and gender.

In the early 1970s, she was part of the Lexington-Fayette County Merger Commission. This group helped form the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government.

In the late 1970s, Dr. Berry moved to Columbia, Maryland. This city is located between Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. She began working with the federal government. After a few years, she started her own private psychology practice in Washington, D.C. Today, she continues to live and work in the D.C. area. She specializes in helping people with marriage, family, and relationship issues.