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Alvin F. Poussaint, 90, Dies; Saw Racism Affecting Black Mental Health
Alvin F. Poussaint, 90, Dies; Saw Racism Affecting Black Mental Health
A psychiatrist at Harvard and an adviser to Jesse Jackson and Bill Cosby, he challenged Black Americans to stand up to systemic bigotry.
Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint in 1979 at Harvard Medical School, where he spent most of his career. Neal Menschel for The New York Times
By Clay Risen
Published Feb. 24, 2025
Updated Feb. 26, 2025
Alvin F. Poussaint, a psychiatrist who, after providing medical care to the civil rights movement in 1960s Mississippi, went on to play a leading role in debates about Black culture and politics in the 1980s and ’90s through his research on the effects of racism on Black mental health, died on Monday at his home in Chestnut Hill, Mass. He was 90. ... His wife, Dr. Tina Young Poussaint, confirmed the death.
Dr. Poussaint, who spent most of his career as a professor and associate dean at Harvard Medical School, first came to public prominence in the late 1970s, as the energy and optimism of the civil rights movement were giving way to white backlash and a skepticism about the possibility of Black progress in a white-dominated society.
In books like “Why Blacks Kill Blacks” (1972) and “Black Child Care” (1975), he walked a line between those on the left who blamed persistent racism for the ills confronting Black America and those on the right who said that, after the civil rights era, it was up to Black people to take responsibility for their own lives.
Through extensive research and jargon-free prose, Dr. Poussaint (pronounced pooh-SAHNT) recognized the continued impact of systemic racism while also calling for Black Americans to embrace personal responsibility and traditional family structures.
{snip}
Dr. Poussaint with Bill Cosby at a taping of “Meet the Press” in 2009. Much of the advice Mr. Cosby gave to Black youth mirrored what Dr. Poussaint had been saying for years. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images for Meet The Press
{snip}
Dr. Poussaint in 1995. By the late 1990s, he had become a go-to commentator for journalists looking for insight into Black culture. Rita Reed/Star Tribune, via Getty Images
{snip}
Dr. Poussaint as a student at Cornell University, from which he received his medical degree in 1960. He had received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia. via Poussaint family
{snip}
Dr. Poussaint joined the Selma to Montgomery march for civil rights in Alabama in March 1965. He experienced racism there firsthand. Ben Martin/Getty Images
{snip}
Clay Risen is a Times reporter on the Obituaries desk. More about Clay Risen
A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 26, 2025, Section B, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Alvin F. Poussaint, Influential Voice on Black Mental Health, Dies at 90. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
A psychiatrist at Harvard and an adviser to Jesse Jackson and Bill Cosby, he challenged Black Americans to stand up to systemic bigotry.
Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint in 1979 at Harvard Medical School, where he spent most of his career. Neal Menschel for The New York Times
By Clay Risen
Published Feb. 24, 2025
Updated Feb. 26, 2025
Alvin F. Poussaint, a psychiatrist who, after providing medical care to the civil rights movement in 1960s Mississippi, went on to play a leading role in debates about Black culture and politics in the 1980s and ’90s through his research on the effects of racism on Black mental health, died on Monday at his home in Chestnut Hill, Mass. He was 90. ... His wife, Dr. Tina Young Poussaint, confirmed the death.
Dr. Poussaint, who spent most of his career as a professor and associate dean at Harvard Medical School, first came to public prominence in the late 1970s, as the energy and optimism of the civil rights movement were giving way to white backlash and a skepticism about the possibility of Black progress in a white-dominated society.
In books like “Why Blacks Kill Blacks” (1972) and “Black Child Care” (1975), he walked a line between those on the left who blamed persistent racism for the ills confronting Black America and those on the right who said that, after the civil rights era, it was up to Black people to take responsibility for their own lives.
Through extensive research and jargon-free prose, Dr. Poussaint (pronounced pooh-SAHNT) recognized the continued impact of systemic racism while also calling for Black Americans to embrace personal responsibility and traditional family structures.
{snip}
Dr. Poussaint with Bill Cosby at a taping of “Meet the Press” in 2009. Much of the advice Mr. Cosby gave to Black youth mirrored what Dr. Poussaint had been saying for years. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images for Meet The Press
{snip}
Dr. Poussaint in 1995. By the late 1990s, he had become a go-to commentator for journalists looking for insight into Black culture. Rita Reed/Star Tribune, via Getty Images
{snip}
Dr. Poussaint as a student at Cornell University, from which he received his medical degree in 1960. He had received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia. via Poussaint family
{snip}
Dr. Poussaint joined the Selma to Montgomery march for civil rights in Alabama in March 1965. He experienced racism there firsthand. Ben Martin/Getty Images
{snip}
Clay Risen is a Times reporter on the Obituaries desk. More about Clay Risen
A version of this article appears in print on Feb. 26, 2025, Section B, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: Alvin F. Poussaint, Influential Voice on Black Mental Health, Dies at 90. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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