Pressure
The Harm of Western Psychology (2022)
By: Joniesha Hickson and Evan Auguste For generations, African-descendant peoples have been forced to reckon with global delusions of our innate inferiority. Whether considered through the lens of a psychopathic racial personality, a suboptimal worldview, or an afro pessimism, our scholars have made it clear that the ideas responsible for […]
Research Corner
Black Matrescence and Maternal Suicide: Breaking the Silence for Black Mothers
Black Matrescence and Maternal Suicide: Breaking the Silence for Black Mothers Brianna A. Baker, PhD, Postdoctoral Counseling Psychologist, CUNY School of Public Health Koree Badio, MS, Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student, University of Florida In September 2025, 31-year-old Drake Patton and her two young children were found dead in Lake Michigan. […]
RECENT POSTS
Umoja Reflections, Porch Talks, and Kujichagulia Forward
Reflection is a powerful tool for fostering self-love and restoring power to our minds. It offers us an opportunity to appreciate progress, express gratitude, explore mistakes, and identify areas for improvement. In the spirit of reflection and in honor of our Ancestors, I offer this reflection on a visit to […]
Gratitude as Ancestral Practice
Gratitude is medicine for the nervous system. It softens contraction and opens the heart’s portal—the place where ancestors whisper and future generations listen.
Gratitude for Blackness
We live in an anti-Black/African society. Every week, we learn of cuts to educational services in the US and conflicts throughout the diaspora that threaten our existence. Despite challenges, we must remain grateful for Blackness. From the textures of our hair to the soles of our feet, being Black is […]
Family, Freedom, and the Power of Gratitude
Gratitude is often spoken of in fleeting terms, an emotion reserved for the dinner table or a holiday toast. But for many post-incarcerated Black men and women, gratitude carries a weight far greater than a polite “thank you.” It becomes a radical act of healing, a form of resistance, and […]
Nakumbuka: I remember
Nakumbuka is a Kiswahili word that means I remember. Nakumbuka is the name given to the annual day of observance for the Maafa (The African slavery holocaust). Jomo Nkombe, a Tanzanian who lived in Canada, pioneered the idea of nakumbuka as a public ritual in 1990. From early youth, Nkombe […]
Revealing the Black Skin Underneath the White Mask
Richard Philcox’s 2008 translation of Frantz Fanon’s 1952 book, Black Skin, White Masks, holds relevance for Black/Africans in America. Fanon’s words describe the post-colonial impact of race and racism in France and critique his academic studies. He demonstrates how people of African descent wear masks to manage living under the […]
Black Matrescence and Maternal Suicide: Breaking the Silence for Black Mothers
Black Matrescence and Maternal Suicide: Breaking the Silence for Black Mothers Brianna A. Baker, PhD, Postdoctoral Counseling Psychologist, CUNY School of Public Health Koree Badio, MS, Counseling Psychology Doctoral Student, University of Florida In September 2025, 31-year-old Drake Patton and her two young children were found dead in Lake Michigan. […]
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