According to Nobles, the basic core of the African personality is: the Black self concept, which derives from

the nature of the African worldview. The African worldview emphasize oneness with nature, interdependence and oneness of being.

For Nobles, the African concept is “We-ness” self concept, as opposed to an “I-ness” self

concept. This concept recognizes that only in terms of one’s people does the individual become conscious of his or her own existence.

Thus, one’s self-definition is dependent on the corporate definition of one’s people (collective consciousness).

In accordance with Nobles’s model of African self-concept, the most essential components are: (a) one’s historical past

(b) one’s historical future or collective spirituality consciousness and

(c) one’s physical and collective self.

The core of African American personality is divine substance (i.e. spiritual substance having universal origin). It is defined by and reflects nature/natural order.

Akbar proposes that the energy system of Black personality is rhythm. Rhythm is flow (the natural and unrestricted free flowing of energy, and flow is interconnecting (the natural binding function of energy/spirit).

The drive for Blacks personality is to reaffirm oneness with nature. Thus, rhythm is a self-transcending striving, seeking a state of shared self, a collective or communal self.

Akbar’s model proposes that the Black personality, in terms of its divine substance or spirituality, is both conscious and unconscious. It is fundamentally a collective self-consciousness that can be distorted but cannot be destroyed. As a conscious phenomenon, it is an awareness of the inner (Divine) core of the personality.

Awareness of self enables the personality to act in terms of its own enhancement, affirmation, and preservation. In addition, it also transcends the individual self.

According to Akbar, this African consciousness, it is to be

mentally alive and viable, must be maintained and reinforced through the creation and operation of self-affirming institutions.

For example, religious celebrations, rituals, memorials, museums, books and literature, monuments etc. This will help to prevent the distortions of Western philosophy .

Williams (1981) referred to the basic core of the African American personality as the ‘collective Black Mind’.

He identified a Kiswahili term WEUSI (the combination of the English term We, US, and I). This term best characterize the African self concept as the core of Black personality.

WEUSI has three distinguishing features; (1) Blackness, (2) Collectiveness, and (3) Naturalness.

Blackness is the most distinctive feature of WEUSI. It contains four major aspects: (a) genetic Blackness, (b) cultural Blackness (c) psychological Blackness and (d) spiritual Blackness.

• Genetic Blackness: this is inherited, thus all Black posses it. Melanin, both

skin melanin and neuro-melanin (in the brain and the nerve system) are critical components of genetic Blackness. This defines the basic biological and identification of Black people throughout the world.

• Cultural Blackness: this is acquired through the socialization thrust or

function of traditional Black institutions. These institutions comprise the Black family, the Black church, the Black community, historically Black colleges, barber shops/beauty salons etc.

Psychological Blackness:

this refers to Black awareness and Black consciousness. It exist as potential and must be developed through a process called Afrocizing (Black culture-specific socialization. Williams define this component as a corpus of attitudes, beliefs, preferences and behaviors undergirded by Africentric philosophy. It is one’s personal Black identity developed in Afro-space and expressed through Afrotypes.

Spiritual Blackness:

this refers to feelings of unity and oneness of being with other Blacks. It is the sense of collectivity, togetherness and rhythm (free-flowing energy communicated in harmonious music, movement and general expressive behavior) that Black people feel and express in regard to each other. The concept of “soul” conveys that it is a very special quality of feeling unique to Black people.

Collectiveness:

this refers to common or shared Africanity among Black people. At the level of the individual, WEUSI means a collective (common/shared) Black mind. At the level of groups, institutions, and organizations, WEUSI means a collective Black networks.

Collectiveness is a deeply rooted African part of Black people’s nature at all levels of being (individual, group, community, nation, world) that essentially refers to pulling together and working toward common goals.

Naturalness:

this refers to the distinguishing feature of WEUSI as Black specific behavior such as unity, commonality, spirituality, and rhythm. These are the purest, most unadulterated forms of Black behavior and functioning. Thus, it is natural for Blacks to form families, groups, organizations, networks and so on that are empowering and unnatural for Blacks to engage in de-empowering behaviors.

Williams advanced the concept of developmental space (i.e socialization/ social learning developmental space) and “dual pathways of development”.

Black socialization is defined as Afro-typing, which beginsin the Black community within the Black family. According to Williams (1981), the developmental pathways for Black children are either natural “Afrocising process” which consist of Black churches, schools and neighborhoods

Or Anglocentric process, which consist of mainstream White American society. These are racially integrated churches, schools and neighborhoods.

Kambon takes the position that the dynamic Africanspirituality of communalism or uniting into holistic synthesis is the driving energy of African American personality.

Three major constructs of Kambon’s model are African Self-Extension Orientation (ASEO)African Self-Consciousness (ASC)Cultural Misorientation (CM).

African Self-Extension orientation (ASEO) refers to the deeply rooted, unconscious, genetically based African spirituality reflecting a continual, unending urge/striving for collective-communal expression of African cosmic (spiritual) wholeness or unity. It is the core of the personality that is inherited in the bio-genetic condition of being born African.

African Self consciousness represents the conscious expression of African spirituality (ASEO) that affirms African life, survival, and self determination. ASC consist of four key components:

• A collective African identity• A prioritization on African racial-cultural survival

and• Advocacy for and active paricipation in the creation

and perpetuation of African centered institutions and practices, and

• A resolute posture of defense against anti-African forces in one’s thought, attitudes, and behaviors or in other individuals, groups or institutions.

Cultural Misorientation: refers to the intense, pervasive and prolonged condition of forced (imposed) cultural indoctrination by European Americans. CM focus on the psychological orientation of all Diasporan African descendants reflecting the European survival thrust emphasizing a materialistic, individualistic, alien and anti self-destructive, and racial integration orientation in one’s thoughts, attitude and behaviors from European cultural oppression.

The ASCS and CMS were developed to address concerns regarding assessment of the ASC and CM respectively. The ASCS is a 42 –item, Likert-type format questionnaire organized around four competency dimensions of ASC. The four ASC dimensions are:

(1) Collective African Identity and Self Fortification(2) Resistance against Anti- African Forces(3) Value for African-Centered Institutions and

Cultural Expressions, and(4) Value for African Culture.

(1) Collective African Identity and Self fortification: this examines the psychological disposition reflecting a sense of collective African identity and a tendency to engage in activities that affirms one’s African identity (i.e. pro-Black/Black empowering actions such as promoting African American history and cultural activities, Balck political and cultural activities).

(2) Resistance Against Anti-African Forces: this examines the psychological disposition reflecting a tendency to resist, by any means necessary any and all information that may be perceived (experienced/interpreted) as anti-African/ or Black or a threat to African surival in any way, shape or form.

(3) Value for African Centered Institutions and Cultural Expression:

This examines the psychological disposition reflecting belief in the importance of Africentric/pro-Black-oriented empowering organizations, institutions, practices that are under African/Black control based on African cultural definitions (i.e. practising African cultural rituals, celebrations, commemorations).

(4) Value for African Culture: this is the psychological disposition reflecting a firm belief in the value/importance of traditional African cultural forms (practice, product, artifacts etc. for Africans in America.

The CMS consist of 56 items in a Likert-type format designed to assess the level of one’s endorsement of different aspects of a European Survival Thrust across six subscales.

CMSS1: this examines the materialism orientation subscale that reflects a physical-material objectification emphasis through ascription for value and significance to experiences in life (emphasizing on physical characteristics, clothes, money, things etc).

CMSS2: this examines the individual orientation subscale that reflects an I/Me emphasis in life as opposed to a collective emphasis.

CMSS3: The Alien Orientation Subscale reflects a general Eurocentric emphasis in one’s self-concept and one’s approach to life in general.

CMSS4: The Anti-Self Orientation subscale reflects the same emphasis as the ASO with added emphasis on negative values being ascribed and hostility directed toward Blackness/Africanity.

CMSS5: The Self-Destructive Orientation subscale reflects an emphasis on self-group injurious and antisocial or criminal thoughts and behaviors especially directed towards Blacks.

CMSS6: The integration Orientation subscale reflects an emphasis on the inclusion/involvement of Non-Black, Whites in as many aspects of one’s life as possible (from intimacy to the most distant/abstract of experience).

Azibo NosologyAfrican Models of Illness

A nosology is a system for classifying disease, disorder, or pathology

The Azibo Nosology consists of numerous disorders developed and defined by Africentric psychologists

There are three overarching disorders:1) Peripheral Personality Disorders 2) Misorientation3) Mentacide

Peripheral Personality Disorders are the disorders generally refer to the DOs listed in the DSM (at the time that the articles were written, the DSM III was current).

Refers to operating without an African-centered orientation

Manifests whenever alien influences enter the cognitions (attitudes, values, and beliefs)

Consists of alien self-disorder, negativist-pejorativist, and Black compulsiveness

Conscious level rejection of one’s African reality

Denial of the reality of racismActive attempt to emulate European

WorldviewAvoid situations with other BlacksMay develop misoriented sexual orientation

and/or marry non-Black ethnic spousesDSM-IV TR correlation- Thought Disorder or

Personality DO?

Includes elements of Alien Self-DisorderThe vehement rejection, covertly and/or

overtly, of being and becoming AfricanDSM-IV TR correlation- Thought Disorder

(Axis I, or Personality DO Axis II?)

Refers to the unfruitful and destructive attempts to cope with the stresses of race and racism in the US. (More limited to African Americans, but can apply cross-culturally)

DSM-IV TR correlation- Oppositional-Defiant Personality DO?

Refers to physiological and/or biological diseases that have their etiological basis in white supremacy (i.e., poor nutrition, ecological racism, health related diseases)

ExamplesDiabetes and the legacy of slaverySickle-cell anemia and genetic survival

DSM-IV TR correlation- Axis III and Axis IV

Person that identifies the core of the Black personality as extending from the atrocities of enslavement.

Does not acknowledge the African reality of the African personality.

Person sees the Black personality as an outcome of the experience and relationships with whites.

Focuses on the deficit model approach

Refers to self-confusion and self-doubt/worth due to dependency on white standards and definitions

Differential Diagnosis with Negativist-Pejorativist

People with negativist-pejorativist may not be operating with white standards or preferences

“Mentacide is the murder of the human being’s mind.”

Two types: Alienating Mentacide and Peripheral Mentacide

Alienating Mentacide includes those behaviors that denigrate the African character, i.e., using the “n ” word, race-related jokes, etc.

Peripheral Mentacide- fosters the disorganization of the African personality DO

Behavior results in stress that may produce disease

Axis I, II, III, and Axis IV

Materialistic Depression is the basis of one’s self-worth on material items

The deprecation of one’s self-worth based on the absence of material objects