James Sydney Jackson (1944-2020)

Am Psychol. 2021 Sep;76(6):1090-1091. doi: 10.1037/amp0000837.

Abstract

James Sydney Jackson (1944-2020). Jackson had a profound, wholly unique, and enduring impact on the discipline of psychology and a host of other affiliated fields of study. His insistence on seeing Black populations and other peoples of color in full- appreciating their complexities, variabilities, and contrasts- fundamentally altered our approach to the study of race/ethnicity within these scholarly frames. In the Fall of 1971, Jackson assumed his first (and only) academic post in the University of Michigan's Department of Psychology. Jackson held a number of key positions over the years, and served as the 7th director of Michigan's famed Institute for Social Research (ISR) from 2005-2015. In 2014, he was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Science Board. Jackson was also elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Jackson's most pivotal contribution to psychology, social science, public health, and other related fields was the legion of impactful scholars he mentored, nurtured, and encouraged throughout his and their academic careers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Publication types

  • Historical Article

MeSH terms

  • Black People*
  • Ethnicity
  • History, 20th Century
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Public Health
  • Social Sciences*
  • United States