Wade W. Nobles, Ph.D.
(Nana Kwaku Berko
I., aka Ifagbemi Sangodare)
Executive Director
The Institute for the Advanced Study of Black Family Life &
Culture, Inc.
Psychologist and Professor of Africana Studies
San Francisco State University
Director
Center for Applied Cultural Studies and Educational Achievement
Dr. Wade W. Nobles is an experimental
social psychologist, who received his Ph.D. from Stanford University.
He has a special interest in the social, ethnic and cultural relativity
of social science, research and evaluation models. Dr. Nobles is
a prominent theoretical scientist in the fields of African Psychology,
cross-cultural and ethno-human functioning. He is one of the leading
researchers on social systems and psycho-cultural development. In
addition to his research interest in the area of African-American
family dynamics, his research interest also covers the psychological
aspects of mythology, Black child development, parenting and systems
of human transformation and development.
Dr. Nobles is the founder and
Executive Director of the Institute for the Advanced Study of Black
Family, Life and Culture, Inc., and a full-time, tenured professor
in the Department of Black Studies, the School of Ethnic Studies
at San Francisco State University. He is also the founder and Director
of the Center for Applied Cultural Studies and Educational Achievement
(CACSEA), a California State University System educational research
center dedicated to studying and developing models of culturally
consistent educational pedagogy and praxis relative to African-American
educational excellence. Since its inception CACSEA has been devoted
to applying the ideas and teachings of Dr. Nobles and other African
educators and scholars to the improvement of Black education. For
the past four years CACSEA has held formal summer teacher training
institutes and has trained over eight hundred teachers in its unique
"touching the spirit" pedagogy. In recognition of his
scholarship and community work, Dr. Nobles was appointed to serve
on the California State Commission on the Status of the African
American Males.
As the Director of the Institute,
Dr. Nobles has served as the leader of numerous community based
development initiatives. He founded and created the HAWK Manhood
Development and Transformation Rites of Passage Training of Trainers
Program, which has over fifteen sites throughout the United States
and a female prototype, the Aset Society. He has written and conducted
over sixty seven funded community based research, training and development
projects. In his capacity as a nationally recognized community grounded
scholar and researcher, he served as the chief architect and scholar-in-residence
for the McClymonds African Centered Science, Culture and Technology
High School Transformation Project. Dr. Nobles served as the chief
Co-designer for the Congress of National Black Church's development
of a Conceptual Intervention Model for Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes
in African American Women and the Association of Black Psychologists'
African Centered Behavioral Change Model for the Prevention of HIV/AIDS
and other STDs. He currently serves as the chief consultant for
the Kansas City Missouri School Districts K-12 African Centered
Schools Program.
Dr. Nobles has served as a delegate
to the White House Conference on Families; was a member of the President's
Commission on Mental Health and is one of the most sought after
scholars, trainers and consultants in the country. He has established
an international reputation and for a decade was a participant/convenor
of an international group of Black scholars meeting in Trinidad,
the Virgin Islands, East Africa and the USA. In 1983 he was invited
as 1 of 200 internationally recognized scholars - theologians from
around the world to attend a conference on emerging religious theologies
in Portugal. Since 1996, he has co-led "The Enyimnyam Project",
a unique and special study-development project designed to connect
Africans from the Diaspora with Africans from the continent by having
Africans from the USA actually experiencing the "lived experiences"
(work and play) of the people of Ghana via development projects
that intentionally address the question of life's purpose, path,
pain, direction and destiny.
While serving as the National President of the Association of Black
Psychologists (1994-95), Dr. Nobles helped to create the Association's
international health initiative. This initiative included the drafting
and signing of the "African Healers Covenant" between
the Association of Black Psychologists and the Ghana National Association
of Traditional Healers and the Federation of Traditional Healers.
The African Healers Covenant calls for the on-going exchange of
practitioners, interns and students as well as collaborative research,
cross-training, technical assistance and informational and skills
transfer.
Dr. Nobles is an expert presenter-trainer
in the fields of African Psychology, Black family dynamics, youth
development, African centered education and behavioral change, culturally
consistent systems theory, substance abuse prevention training,
community generated ritual development, and traditional African
spiritness and healing. He has lectured, trained, worked and designed
community based development projects throughout the United States,
England, Japan and Africa.
In 1996, Dr. Nobles received
the high honor of being enstooled as the Nkwasohene of Akwasiho-Kwahu
Region of Ghana West Africa. His stool name is Nana Kwaku Berko
I and he is responsible for every aspect of development for the
people of Akwasiho and the Kwahu region. Upon being enstooled as
an African sub-chief for development, Dr. Nobles has been reintegrated
back into the ancient clan system of the royal chieftancy of the
Akan civilization.
Dr. Wade W. Nobles is an
active member of the Association of Black Psychologists, serving
as:
(1) A founding member of the Association (1969)
(2) President, Bay Area Association of Black Psychologist (1973-74)
(3) Western Regional Representative to the National Board (1974-75)
(4) Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Black Psychology (1976 to
present)
(5) Recipient of first "Scholarly Research Award" given
by the National Association of Black Psychologist (1977)
(6) Co-Chair, Association of Black Psychologist 19th Annual National
Convention (1986)
(7) Member, National Convention Review Board (1987)
(8) Recipient of "Scholarship Award" given by the National
Association of Black Psychologist (August 4,1990)
(9) Selected as the 1990 Distinguished Psychologist of the year
(10) President Elect of the Association of Black Psychologist (1993)
(11) President, Association of Black Psychologist, 1994 - 1995
Dr. Nobles is the author of the seminal articles:
African Philosophy: Foundation
for Black Psychology. In R. L. Jones (ed) BLACK PSYCHOLOGY, New
York: Harper & Row, 1972, pp.18-32.,
Voodoo or I.Q.: An Introduction
to African Psychology. JOURNAL OF BLACK PSYCHOLOGY, 1975, Vol. l,
No. 2, Pp. 1-20. (Co-authored with Cedric X (Clark) aka Syed Khatib,
D. Phillip McGee, and Luther X (Weems), aka Naim Akbar
He is the author of the following books:
Seeking the Sakhu: Foundational
Writings for an African Psychology. Chicago, Illinois: Third World Press, 2006
African Psychology: Toward its
Reclamation, Reascension and Revitalization. Oakland, Ca. Black Family
Institute Publications
Africanity and the Black Family:
The Development of a Theoretical Model. Oakland, Ca. Black Family
Institute Publications
and the co-author of:
African Philosophy: Assumptions
and Paradigms for Research on Black People. (with Lewis M. King
and Vernon Dixon) LA, California: Fanon Center Publications, 1976.
Understanding the Black Family:
A Guide For Scholarship and Research (with Lawford L. Goddard) Oakland,
Ca. Black Family Institute Publications
The Km Ebit Husia: Authoritative
Utterances of Exceptional Insight for the Black Family ( with Lawford
L. Goddard and William E. Cavil, III) Oakland, Ca. Black Family
Institute Publications.
"African-American Families:
Issues, Insights and Directions"
(with Lawford L. Godddard, William E. Cavil, III and Pamela Y. George)
Oakland, Ca. Black Family Institute Publications.
Dr. Nobles serves on the Executive
Board of The Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations.
He is the recipient of:
Award for Excellence, Scholarship,
and Dedication in the Study of African Peoples, Black Student Psychological
Association, 1977
Certificate of Appreciation
National Head Start Association, Ohio 1978
Certificate of Recognition,
New York City Head Start, New York City University, 1979
Award for Recognition and Outstanding
Scholarly Research on the Black Family, Bay Area National Hampton
Alumni Association, 1982.
Congressional Award for Outstanding
Contribution to the Community, The State and the Nation, the 99th
Session of United States Congress, 1985
Outstanding Achievement in the
Field of Psychology Award, Grand Rapids Alumni Chapter, Kappa Alpha
Psi Fraternity, Inc. 1989
Email: drnobles@iasbflc.org
