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NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING
RED BANK, NJ 07701, 2019, 107pp.
ISBN 978-1-64531-758-(Paperback), $19.95
ISBN 978-1-64531-759-3 (Digital)
Proceedings of a symposium presented by the Department of African
American Studies of City College of San Francisco and the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists
On February 25, 1998.
William Thomas, Ph.D., is the editor of the first edition of Larry P. Revisited: I.Q. Testing of African
Americans, the second edition. He earned his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of
California, Berkeley. His unpublished dissertation is entitled Using Peer Counseling to Reduce
Interference and Improve the Academic Achievement of School Children. He is a licensed clinical
psychologist with a private practice, and divides his practice between Beaumont, California, where he
lives with his wife Yvonne, and San Francisco, California. Visit the author’s website at William Thomas
PhD. Daniel E. Williams is an Emeritus professor of psychology, Montclair State University (Upper
Montclair, New Jersey, past president (1980) of the Association of Black Psychologists and past chair of
the Committee of Northern New Jersey to Award the Diplomate in Psychology to Candidates of
(American Board of Professional Psychology from 1982 to 1985.Dr. Williams was awarded the Diplomate
(ABBP) in Clinical Psychology by the aforementioned Board. Dr. Williams was awarded the
Diplomate/Fellow in African-Centered Black Psychology Williams also served as a member of the
Committee to award the Diplomate/Fellow in African-Centered Black Psychology to Candidates by the
Association of Black Psychologists. WIlliams also served as a member of the State of New Jersey Board of
Psychological Examiners from 1975 to 1977. Dr. Williams was a licensed Psychologist in New Jersey
(#897) and New York (016743). Dr. Williams was recognized as a Distinguishedy Practitioner by the
National Academy of Practice in Psychology. Dr. Williams Retired in 2016.
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This 6-chapter treatise begins with Acknowledgements and Introduction which are essential in
understanding the issues. In the acknowledgements the author explains the origin of the symposiums,
the City College of San Francisco and the Bay Area Association of Black Psychologists. He, then describes
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the strong support system that enabled him to complete the project. In the Introduction he describes
the gathering that occurred on February 25, 1998 on the campus at City College of San Francisco Nearly
three hundred psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers, students, mental health workers, and community
activists convened for a symposium on IQ Testing of African Americans.
Thomas points out the symposium took place at a most opportune time. The gains of the Civil Rights
movement were under attack from the Judicial, legislatures and terrorist attacks. Even the Special
Education Department in the state of California had established a committee to explore ways to
circumvent the Larry P. decision. Those meeting in the symposium recognized that the time had come to
remove barriers of segregation and establish a truly egalitarian nation. However, with the continued
administration of IQ tests, Black and other ethnically diverse students were being held to standards
which are racially and culturally discriminatory to them even if integrated schools provide them the
opportunity to participate equally.
In Chapter I, Robert L. Williams reminds African-Americans of the richness of their ancestry and his
own personal history which includes his involvement in the testing of Black children. He points out that
while in high school, he was administered an IQ test on which he scored 82 and was told by a counselor
that he did not have the ability to do college level work. Williams also explained a culturally specific test
for Black children ((Black Intelligence Test of Cultural Homogeneity).
In Chapter 2, the author explains the Legal Issues in Testing African Americans, Chapter 3 is entitled ,
What Good Is This Thing Called Intelligence and Why Bother to Measure it. Chapter 4, Racial and Ethnic
Bias in Test Construction, Chapter 5, Alternative Methods for Assessing African Americans Sharks in the
water, Chapter 6, African American Consumer’s Bill of Legal Testing Rights on Standardized.
This is an extremely interesting book and essential reading for those who have an interest in cultural
differences in aptitude and achievement. This is also an excellent book for all applied psychologists.