The brilliant mind of Dr. Amos Wilson

Dr. Amos Wilson was an American psychologist who focused on the psychological effects of white-supremacy in the lives of black people. Through his many books and speeches, Dr. Wilson narrowed-in on the impact of Eurocentrism on the psyches-and-behaviors of the global black family. 

Dr. Amos dedicated his career to teaching African people of their socio-economic status under white-supremacy. He discussed how every aspect of the system, white-supremacy, is in place to destroy the black mind-and-body. He posited that black families are trapped under this system that only benefits their white counterparts.

Multiple presentations on the education, the economics, and the psychology of black people dominated the different platforms from which he spoke from, and he never failed to be diligent and precise. 

In one of his many videos, Dr. Amos Wilson said that black people have to be “crazy” to continue to exist with white-supremacy. The authority that Europeans supplanted in their lives’ presents a “distorted” reality that disrupts the sense of the past and location. Dr. Wilson explained the context of this by saying that, “history is a system of coordinates” not just “dates and events.” By allowing Europeans to gain full control of the narratives of history, they, in-turn, write history based on their precepts of time.

As a psychologist, he concluded that the behavior of Europeans is “narcissist” in nature and this psychodynamic has been the cause behind the extermination of natives in different regions as well as the enslavement of African people. He said that, “Wherever they have put their foot in the lands of other people, they have degraded if not outright murdered and destroyed those people.” In contrast, Dr. Amos stated that African people have never committed the global genocides which are etched in Europe’s history. 

He religiously told people- of-color to create geopolitical and socio-economic systems solely for themselves. 

While the purchasing power of African-Americans’ remains strong; the return-on-investment for them is dismal. Even non-European people overfeed from the dollars of black families such as Asian businesses setting-up shops in black neighborhoods. Essentially, black neighborhoods are more saturated with the business ideas of other groups rather than ventures from African-Americans

He believed that a complete separation from the domination of Europeans(and other groups) would benefit black people more than integration with them. 

Looking to the Future 

Dr. Wilson discussed what an African-centered journey should look like for black people. This movement would have to take into account education, economics, and cultural identity to create effective models.

He assessed power structures and their stratagems to show how cultural habits influence different interactions.

He used the word, ”constants,” to talk about patterns, which have been used by Europeans who merged with other cultures. Those are the usual strategies used by Europeans to take resources such as land and waterways to solidify their presence- usually in the territories of other groups. 

How to mold black children to become future success stories was often part of Wilson’s activism. Throughout his career, he mentioned how black children are not being taught according to their life experiences. This disservice removes children from their African identity in order to support the cultural definition of Europeans. Dr. Wilson discussed  culture and education as having purposes, but not just mere tools of recognition. 

In Wilson’s viewpoint, the problem is that black children are being educated through the lens of Europeans. In this dominating educational curriculum, black children’s potential is destroyed . The black child’s life is different from the white child’s way-of-life; therefore, black youths must learn through African-focused curriculums to help them navigate this world. 

His two books called, Awakening the Natural Intelligence of Black Children, and The Developmental Psychology of the Black Child, are much-needed books to read. 

His brilliance is featured through his delivery of information that is research-based. He incorporated the theories of psychology to assess interrelationships between various cultures and their connections to social systems.

In one speech, Dr. Amos explained the terminology called- society. He defined the term as, “a society can only be carried within the minds and bodies of its members.” Dr. Wilson explained the terminology as “society is not out there” as many may think it is, but it is a “social structure” that governs our behaviors. It is within us and is then released in different environments.

His book called, Black On Black Violence: They Psychodynamics of Black Self Annihilation in Service of White Domination, explores how violence in the black community is not individualistic. Instead, he said this cultural form of violence is “connected though to so many other things.” He said that violence committed by black people “serves a social and political purpose that black on black violence is a necessity for maintaining this political and economic system.” 

His references to western civilization described agendas, which are a continuation of utilizing colonizing tools to keep oppressed people as such. A country like the United States is one where violence is still used to keep the legacy of white settlers alive. Dr. Wilson once said that “black-on-black violence is a duplicate of the white governmental system.” 

This historical insight is also attached to other black psychologists like Dr. Frances Wesling, Franz Fanon, who examined the dynamics of black people with their colonizers. In all, these professionals relied on historical realities, which are depictions of a strategic intent by Europeans to wreck the black body, spirit, and mind. 

Finally, he passionately told the global black family that Europeans should not be the writers- and-holders of black people’s livelihood. He stressed that only black people can create meaningful ideas to assist in their own betterment; because Europeans only look for their own survival. 

Books by Dr. Amos Wilson:

Blueprint for Black Power: A Moral, Political, and Economic Imperative for the Twenty-First Century

Black On Black Violence: The Psychodynamics of Black 

Self-Hatred, Self-Defeat

African Centered Consciousness Versus The New World Order

The Developmental Psychology of the Black Child