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A video entitled "Strand by Strand. addressing hair pulling in the African American community"

The award is named after Kenneth and Mamie Clark pioneering Black psychologists who conducted research on Black children's self-esteem and identity using Black and white dolls. Their studies played an important role in the Brown versus Board of Education ruling. Kenneth Clark was the first African American to serve as President of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Neal-Barnett has been a Kent State Faculty member since 1989. She directs the Program for Research on Anxiety Disorders among African Americans. Dr. Neal-Barnett and her students are actively involved in the African American community conducting research, workshops, and seminars. Their work has been published in psychology journals and featured in Heart and Soul Magazine and Ebony.

"I am honored and humbled to be the recipient of this award," said Neal-Barnett. "I want to continue to make a difference in the lives of ethnic minority graduate students."
 
 

Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett of Kent State University was recognized with a special resolution from the Ohio Senate and General Assembly for receiving the  2000 Kenneth and Mamie Clark Award.
 
 

3/30/01   Black Graduate Students in Psychology, University of South Carolina

To Be Female, Anxious, and Black

Hairpulling in African Americans: Only Your Hairdresser Knows for Sure

Church Folks Don't Get Anxious, Do They?:  Black Women andPanic Attacks

August 25, 2001      Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco, CA

How to Publish your Article:  The Author's Perspective

Sponsored by the American Psychological Association's Publication Office

"You ACT so White!"
"You TALK just like a White girl!"
"You THINK you're one of those White guys you hang around with, don't you?!"

In a chapter from her upcoming book, Forging Links: African American Children Clinical Development Perspectives (Praeger Press, 2000), Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D. closely examines the "acting white phenomenon", and finds that being accused of acting white has little to do with being White, and everything to do with what it means to be Black.

The "meaning" of what it is to be Black has never been etched in stone. Today, definitions range from "hardcore and militant" to "ghetto" to "bougie"- one stereotypical extreme to the other. When African American adolescents from different areas of this continuum meet, the "acting white" accusation comes into play, and results in various levels of emotional stress, anxiety, and even jealousy among its victims.

Dr. Neal-Barnett's article finds that the psychological implications of being accused of acting white are specific to the individual accused. Dozens of African American high school students were interviewed, and while some expressed anxious, angry, and envious feelings at the idea that they did not live up to the "norm" defined by their Black peers, others were merely irritated with the social "rule" of being forced to identify with Blacks, instead of just being accepted as a "human being".

Perhaps the most intriguing information to emerge from the students interviewed was the Black students' insistence that Dr. Neal-Barnett interview white students as well, who would "know best what acting white is." Although the seventeen white students interviewed were quick to pinpoint the stereotypical behaviors, language, and even appropriate style of dress associated with being black, they were at a loss for words when asked for a definition of "being white." This suggests that even white adolescents have adopted the Black definition of being white.

Although more research is needed to fully understand the acting white phenomenon and develop interventions that prevent adolescents from becoming permanently ensnared in its trap-the article, provides valuable information about the psychological implications of being accused of acting white, and provides insight into the relationship between acting white and racial identity among African Americans.

Acting white is the most negative accusation thrown in the face of many Black adolescents. As broad as the definitions on the continuum of "what it is to be Black" may be, it is imperative that African American adolescents, parents and teachers make room for all African Americans to fit in.
 
 

Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett, Kent State University Associate Professor of Psychology, appeared on the April 16 edition of BET's Heart and Soul television program. Dr. Neal-Barnett talked with Heart and Soul co-host Dr. Ro about panic attacks and Black women. The show aired at 11:00 am. A repeat of the show aired on April 22 at 3:00pm.

Dr. Neal-Barnett is a nationally recognized expert in the area of anxiety and African Americans. Her research has been featured in leading professional journals and in the national media.

"Panic attacks are treatable," said Dr. Neal-Barnett. "However, this information is not readily available in many African American communities. Dr. Ro and Heart and Soul have provided me with the opportunity to share this news with African American women across the country"
 
 

An award-winning outreach project designed to prepare undergraduate psychology majors of color for graduate school success. The project has received a seed grant award from the American Psychological Association  and  the Kent State Uiniversity Provost's Retention Fund

Click here to download an application form.
 

Preparing for Graduate School

Student Participants	Faculty Presenters

Angela M. Neal-Barnett, Ph.D. All rights reserved.Some copyrighted graphics courtesy of African American Inspired Web Art and IconBazaar.  This site is best viewed with Netscape Communicator.

Last Updated: 9/5/01