Francis Cecil Sumner was an African American psychologist who rose to intellectual prominence in the early 1900s. His passion for civil rights paved the way for educational reform that made receiving a college education more attainable for African American students. He changed the future demographic of psychologists, and stood up for racial equality in a time of segregation and hostility. His primary psychological focus pertained to race and religion. In 1911 Francis Cecil Sumner was accepted into Lincoln University at age 15. Since secondary education was rare for African Americans during this time, he had to perform a written examination to prove he was academically prepared (Guthrie, 188). After graduating from Lincoln University in 1915
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Shortly after arriving in West Virginia, he made his first contribution to the American Journal of Psychology. During his seven-year tenure, Sumner conducted all of his research studies without the assistance of outside finances. He believed that the basis of agencies’ refusal to fund his research was due to his race. This treatment lead him to speak out on the racial unjust involved in higher learning, and the difficulties African Americans face when trying to break into the field of psychology. He wrote several articles supporting the fundamentalist reforms of Booker T. Washington and condemning colleges for their poor treatment of African Americans (Lawson, 381). Sumner’s unabashed call for equality among all races was one of the many reasons he became a world-renowned psychologist. Sumner left West Virginia in 1928 and went to Howard University, immediately becoming the acting chair of the psychology department (Guthrie, 197). He began working with the new president of the university, Mordecai W. Johnson, on separating the psychology department from the education and philosophy departments. He believed that by separating the colleges into different components, the subjects would be taught more successfully as they were not seemingly dependent on one another. After making psychology its own separate department, Sumner …show more content…
Among this research was a series of studies evaluating the attitudes of African Americans and Caucasians towards the enforcement of justice (Guthrie, 199). Sumner and his graduate students concluded that several actions should be handled on a more democratic basis. Sumner’s attitude towards racial equality resonated in many of his students, one in particular being Kenneth Clark. His psychological research on prejudice and segregation using the development of children and dolls was used in the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools, facilities, and many private businesses (Thomas,
Shortly after arriving in West Virginia, he made his first contribution to the American Journal of Psychology. During his seven-year tenure, Sumner conducted all of his research studies without the assistance of outside finances. He believed that the basis of agencies’ refusal to fund his research was due to his race. This treatment lead him to speak out on the racial unjust involved in higher learning, and the difficulties African Americans face when trying to break into the field of psychology. He wrote several articles supporting the fundamentalist reforms of Booker T. Washington and condemning colleges for their poor treatment of African Americans (Lawson, 381). Sumner’s unabashed call for equality among all races was one of the many reasons he became a world-renowned psychologist. Sumner left West Virginia in 1928 and went to Howard University, immediately becoming the acting chair of the psychology department (Guthrie, 197). He began working with the new president of the university, Mordecai W. Johnson, on separating the psychology department from the education and philosophy departments. He believed that by separating the colleges into different components, the subjects would be taught more successfully as they were not seemingly dependent on one another. After making psychology its own separate department, Sumner …show more content…
Among this research was a series of studies evaluating the attitudes of African Americans and Caucasians towards the enforcement of justice (Guthrie, 199). Sumner and his graduate students concluded that several actions should be handled on a more democratic basis. Sumner’s attitude towards racial equality resonated in many of his students, one in particular being Kenneth Clark. His psychological research on prejudice and segregation using the development of children and dolls was used in the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed racial segregation in public schools, facilities, and many private businesses (Thomas,