Awakening the Natural Genius of Black Children by Amos N. Wilson

Wilson worked as a psychologist, social caseworker, supervising probation officer and as a training administrator in the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice. Early life and educationīorn in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1940 or 1941, Wilson completed his undergraduate degree at the Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, master degree at The New School of Social Research, and attained a PhD degree from Fordham University in New York. For persons or organizations who have been looking for a practical guide to bring out the best in Afrikan American children, Awakening the Natural Genius of Black Children is a 'must read.Amos Nelson Wilson (Febru(or 1940) - January 14, 1995) was an African-American theoretical psychologist, social theorist, Pan-African thinker, scholar, author and a professor of psychology at the City University of New York.

Parents, professionals, para-professional and interested lay-persons will no doubt benefit immensely from reading this timely review and by putting into practice its numerous helpful recommendations, following-up its up-to-date references and suggested reading list. Wilson, author of the bestseller, The Developmental Psychology of the Black Child, surveys the daily routines, child-rearing practices, parent-child interactions, games and play materials, parent-training and pre-school programs which have made demonstrably outstanding and lasting differences in the intellectual, academic and social performance of Black children. The quality of children's education experiences during infancy and early childhood are substantially related to their measured intelligence, academic achievement and prosocial behavior. Awakening the Natural Genius of Black Children provides effective means by which these political and social maladies may be fully remedied. They begin life with a 'natural head start.' However, their natural genius is too frequently underdeveloped and misdirected by (1) the fact that the racist and imperialist status quo politically mandates their intellectual under-achievement and social mal-adaptiveness (2) belief in the myth that intelligence is fixed at birth and that Afrikans are innately less intelligent than Europeans (3) a lack of knowledge of their positively unique developmental psychology (4) a lack of confidence in their ability to equal or surpass the intellectual performance of any other ethnic group and (5) the general lack of infant and early childhood educational experiences which stimulate, sustain and actualize their abundant human potential. Afrikan children are naturally precocious and gifted.

Awakening the Natural Genius of Black Children by Amos N. Wilson