COUNSELING PERSONS of BLACK AFRICAN ANCESTRY1 Ivory Achebe Toldson, Kelechi C
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7 COUNSELING PERSONS OF BLACK AFRICAN ANCESTRY1 Ivory Achebe Toldson, Kelechi C. Anyanwu, and Casilda Maxwell distribute or Primary Objective the quality and integrity of their services by To teach counselors how to identify and make developing a better understanding of (1) spe- reasonable accommodations for the unique cific cultural norms and folkways, (2) how psychological traits and sociocultural back- sociocultural power differentials manifest ground of persons of Black African ancestry within a therapeutic context, and (3) how post,Black/African psychology tenets can shape Secondary Objectives clinical practice. In many counseling settings, routine prac- To describe psychological, cultural, and socio- tices and compliance standards often diminish political issues that counselors might consider before working with clients of Black African the quality of care for Black clients. Some coun- ancestry selors report that they often alter standards and bend rules, not only to enhance Black clients’ To propose enhancedcopy, techniques and strate - services but also to protect them from mal- gies for providing effective counseling ser- treatment (Williams, 2005). For example, one vices to African Americans and other clients Black counselor reported that he instructs his of African descent Black adolescent clients to use the title of not “Brother” instead of “Mr.” when addressing he purpose of this chapter is to help him. Another counselor described the disso- counselors explore practices and pro- nance she felt when she frankly told her client Do cedures that appreciate the culture, to “just ignore that label . that’s not who you Tnomenclature, history, and clinical prefer- really are,” when referring to her client’s treat- ences of clients and counselor trainees of ment plan diagnosis. Yet another counselor Black African ancestry. The chapter empha- encouraged her client to call out the name of a sizes ways in which counselors can enhance deceased loved one to keep his memory alive 2–143 Copyright ©2016 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. 144–2–COUNSELING ACROSS CULTURES—CHAPTER 7 and not merely to “let go” of the past. Finally, a relativity and rhythm (Cokley, 2005; counselor admitted that he applauded his cli- Washington, Johnson, Jones, & Langs, 2007). In ent’s tough confrontation of her son’s drug use. this view, counseling strategies are not rules When used in traditional counseling settings, that match a specific taxonomy of clients and all of the above interventions may appear their problems. Rather, the relative importance refractory and audacious, yet a body of litera- of a counselor’s strategy depends on the rhythm ture supports their legitimacy for Black clients and context of a session. The purpose of this (Ayonrinde, 2003; Bhugra & Bhui, 1999; Brody chapter is to help counselors use their strategies et al., 2006; Harvey & Coleman, 1997; Herrick, within a context that appreciates Black people’s 2006; Leavitt, 2003; Reiser, 2003; Toldson & common folkways and collective struggle. In Toldson, 1999; Wills et al., 2007). North America and abroad, persons of Black Notably, nothing heretofore stated should be African ancestry share common folkways that casually considered a counseling strategy for evince their African origin, cultural adaptations African Americans or any other client of Black to colonial autocracies (e.g., language and reli- African ancestry. Throughout this chapter, the gion), and a collective struggle against racism authors will resist the impulse to directly sug- and discrimination. distribute gest counseling strategies and hope that readers will not intuit counseling methods that they will “try out” on a Black client. The literature is 2 Historyor and Nomenclature replete with novel techniques to address the unique counseling needs of persons of African Persons of Black African ancestry live as citi- descent—too many to reiterate in this chapter zens, foreign nationals, and indigenous popula- but no less deserving of consideration. tions on every continent as a result of However, counseling strategies are not the immigration, colonialism, and slave trading. primary problem when working with Black clipost,- With an estimated population of 38.9 million, ents. No counseling strategy offers a recipe for 12.6% of the total population of the United healing all persons of African descent. Several States, African Americans constitute the second articles have warned against using a “cookie cut- largest non-White ethnic group in the country ter” approach to working with Black clients (Ruggles et al., 2009). According to the (Bowie, Cherry, & Wooding, 2005; Estrada, 2005; American Community Survey, in the United Respress & Lutfi, 2006; Taylor-Richardson, States, 80% of Black males and 83% of Black Heflinger, & Brown, 2006).copy, Helpers must be self- females age 25 and older have completed high aware and able to use themselves as agents of school or obtained a GED. Forty-five% of Black change (Sheely & Bratton, 2010). Moreover, the males and 53% of Black females have attempted millions of Black people who exist are more dif- college, and 16% of Black males and 19% of ferent fromnot one another than they are collectively Black females have completed college (Ruggles different from other races (Jackson et al., 2004). et al., 2009). In fact, the practice of force fitting Black people Today, most Black people in the Americas Dointo a category reflects a Eurocentric paradigm are the progeny of victims of the transatlantic that relies heavily on taxonomies to understand slave trade. From 1619 to 1863, millions of complex material (Leong & Wong, 2003). Africans were involuntarily relocated from var- Afrocentric approaches de-emphasize classi- ious regions of West Africa to newly estab- fication systems and guidelines and highlight lished European colonies in the Americas. Copyright ©2016 by SAGE Publications, Inc. This work may not be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of the publisher. Counseling Persons of Black African Ancestry–2–145 Many different African ethnic groups, includ- centuries after propaganda campaigns ended ing the Congo, Yoruba, Wolof, and Ibo, were and influence all human interactions, including victims of the transatlantic slave trade. The counseling relationships. Black American population is the aggregate of Today, racism is perpetuated most pro- these groups, consolidated into one race, bound foundly through the educational system. by a common struggle against racial oppres- Loewen (1996) pointed out that students are sion, and distinguished by cultural dualism taught to revere Columbus, who nearly com- (Toldson, 1999). mitted genocide against the native population Importantly, the historic legacy of Black peo- of the Dominican Republic, and Woodrow ple in the Western Hemisphere is not limited to Wilson, who openly praised the Ku Klux Klan. slavery. The Olmec heads found along the Although many of these facts are not well Mexican Gulf Coast is evidence of African colo- known and purposefully disguised in history nies in the Americas centuries before Columbus texts, children often leave traditional elemen- arrived in the Caribbean (Van Sertima, 2003). tary and secondary education with the sense Black people were also responsible for establish- that aside from a few isolated figures (e.g., ing the world’s first free Black republic, and only Martin Luther King distributeand Harriet Tubman), the second independent nation in the Western Black people had a relatively small role in the Hemisphere, with the Haitian Revolution development of modern nations (May, Willis, & (Geggus, 2001). In the United States, almost Loewen, 2003).or 500,000 African Americans were free prior to Contemporary literature on the health and the Civil War and were immensely instrumental economic status of Black people, especially in in shaping U.S. policy throughout abolition and the United States, is dismal. Evidence is often beyond. Post-Civil War, African Americans presented indicating that African Americans influenced U.S. arts, agriculture, foods, textile have the highest incidence of any given mental industry, and language and invented technologpost,- or physical disorder, are more deeply impacted ical necessities such as the traffic light and ele- by social ills, and generally have the lowest eco- vators as well as parts necessary to build the nomic standing. While most of the statistics are automobile and personal computer. All of these accurately presented, rationales are usually contributions were necessary for the United baseless and findings typically lack a sociohis- States to become a world power by the 20th torical context. In addition, studies on African century. Americans unfairly draw social comparisons to Racism and oppressioncopy, are forces that have the social groups that historically benefited shaped the experiences and development of from their oppression. Black people worldwide. Although European Historical distortions accompanying dismal colonialists initially enslaved Black people statistics have resulted in many counselors per- becausenot of their agricultural expertise and petually using a deficit model when working genetic resistance to diseases, they used racist with Black clients (Jamison, 2009). The deficit propaganda to justify their inhumane practices model focuses on clients’ problems, without Do(Loewen, 1996). During