The Angry Black Woman: Killing the Misconceptions that Hinder Quality Care

Conference Strand

Social Change, Leadership, and Advocacy

Abstract

Misconceptions are lethal to quality care. Consequently, it is imperative that therapist remain malleable, readily absorbing information to assist one’s patients. The Black woman is frequently misinterpreted with the negative stereotypes plaguing them. This research is designed to provide clinicians with material regarding the trope of the Angry Black Woman (ABW) in an effort to improve care.

Description

Never in the history of society has there been a subgroup prefaced with the adjective ‘angry’. Angry, deriving from the term anger which in Middle English is composed of words that mean to vex or to grieve. Yet, an entire human subgroup carries the label ‘angry’ and is subliminally expected to think it is accepted by all. Realistically, this is definitely not the case. It is not natural for mankind to gravitate to anything that has the precursor ‘angry’. So, what does the subgroup do? How do they live within a society positively when negativity automatically, in some form or another, precedes them? How do we, as clinicians, effectively empower this group in hopes the misconceptions will not cling to their souls like battery acid? In arming ourselves with knowledge, together we will combat the trope of the Angry Black woman (ABW) and learn compelling strategies to improve the quality of care that women, specifically, Black women receive. The objective of the research is to 1) Provide increased insight on the historical factors impacting the perception of the African American woman as part of a subgroup that is labeled angry. 2) Discuss increasing continued education opportunities for clinician spotlighting stumbling blocks and unique challenges encountered by black women to galvanize the creation of new perceptions. 3) Discuss and develop strategies to improve engagement for multicultural clinicians when working with African American women. It is not to be seen as the end result, as the issue is ongoing; therefore, the research should be a catalyst to continue the development of knowledge to enable practitioners the necessary content to establish best practice for this population.

Evidence

Evidence for this topic derives from research that examines the following topics or experiences:

  • Clinician experiences to include:

  • Support groups

  • Trauma-focused therapy

  • Short-solution based counseling

  • Exploration of Black women's portrayal in the following:

  • History

  • Media

  • Politics

  • Film

  • Reality TV

  • … and much more

The follow are components of a developing list of resources utilized in building the content:

Ashley, W. (2014). The Angry Black Woman: The Impact of Pejorative Stereotypes on

Psychotherapy with Black Women. Social Work in Public Health, 29(1), 27. Retrieved from http://proxygsu-slib.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=91809354&site=eds-live&scope=site

Corbin, N. A., Smith, W. A., & Garcia, J. R. (2018). Trapped between justified anger and being

the strong Black woman: Black college women coping with racial battle fatigue at historically and predominantly White institutions. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), 31(7), 626–643. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2018.1468045

Encounters & White Fragility: Deconstructing the Trope of the Angry Black Woman. Iowa

Law Review, 102(5), 2017–2069. Retrieved from http://proxygsu-slib.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=124842614&site=eds-live&scope=site

GAMBLE J. American Woman. Nation. 2017;304(1):60-62.

http://proxygsu-slib.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lgh&AN=120283568&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed October 1, 2018.

Kerwin, A. M. (2017). The “Angry Black Woman” Makes Real Women Angry. Advertising

Age, 88(18), 0064. Retrieved from http://proxygsu-slib.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=125377655&site=eds-live&scope=site

Format

Individual Presentations

Biographical Sketch

Patricia R. Harris, LPC

Bachelor of Science- Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, Master of Science- Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA

Expertise- Women's issues

Being passionate about helping others my entire life, I have spent over 15 years committed to the helping field. I have experience working with thw chronically mentally ill, incarcerated individuals, military family members, as well as service members. It is through my experiences with women, specifically black women, that brought about the conception and ultimately the birth of the Angry Black Woman curriculum. Currently, I use my research in my company, Winning Life Counseling, PC, to empower clients to traverse through challenging issues faced in life.

Location

ELAB 21

Start Date

2-8-2019 4:00 PM

End Date

2-8-2019 5:15 PM

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Feb 8th, 4:00 PM Feb 8th, 5:15 PM

The Angry Black Woman: Killing the Misconceptions that Hinder Quality Care

ELAB 21

Misconceptions are lethal to quality care. Consequently, it is imperative that therapist remain malleable, readily absorbing information to assist one’s patients. The Black woman is frequently misinterpreted with the negative stereotypes plaguing them. This research is designed to provide clinicians with material regarding the trope of the Angry Black Woman (ABW) in an effort to improve care.