Albert Sidney Beckham

Albert Sidney Beckham (1897–1964) was a pioneering African American psychologist. He specialized in educational psychology and made significant contributions to the base of knowledge about the racial intelligence score disparity. Additionally, he was a professor at Wilberforce University and Howard University and served the Chicago school district as the first African American school psychologist.

Beckham was born on September 21, 1897 in Camden, South Carolina to Elizabeth and Calvin Beckham. His father was a local merchant and businessman. From early on his parents put great emphasis on and were very supportive of his education. They sent him to Christian schools and provided him with tutors. Given the government sanctioned segregation at the time, the type of proactive stance towards education that Beckham’s parents took was really the only way for an African American to get a quality education. The battle with educational segregation only worsened when Beckham began to look towards higher education. College education in the south was almost not an option for African Americans at this time, moving north was a necessity. In 1915, he graduated from Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania with a bachelor's degree, then received a second bachelor's degree from Ohio State University in 1916. He received his master's degree in Psychology in 1917 and subsequently his PhD in psychology from New York University. Beckham eventually earned a Ph.D. in educational psychology and began working for the Institute for Juvenile Research. It was working at the institute that he met his wife, Ruth Howard. She, too, was a psychologist working at the institute.

At the age of 15, Beckham enrolled at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. At Lincoln, Beckham studied alongside Francis Sumner, graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1915. Moving quickly through academic paths that had not been traveled by many African Americans before him, Beckham enrolled in Ohio State University where he earned a second bachelor's degree in 1916 and then a master's degree in psychology the following year. At this point, Beckham’s education was interrupted by his call to serve his country. From 1917 until 1920, Beckham worked as a professor at Wilberforce University at the direction of U.S. armed forces. In 1921, after concluding his service, Beckham enrolled at Columbia University to pursue a doctorate degree in psychology. After taking some courses at Columbia, Beckham transferred to New York University because it offered better financial aid. Beckham continued his studies at NYU until 1924, when he accepted a position as a professor at Howard University. In 1928, Beckham returned to NYU and continued his doctorate work. In 1930, Beckham was awarded a Ph.D. in educational psychology from New York University’s School of Education.

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