Alberta Banner Turner

Alberta Banner Turner, PhD, was born March 17, 1909, in Chicago, to James and Mable Banner. She was the first member of her family to earn a high school diploma. She received her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees all from the Ohio State University (OSU) in 1929, 1931 and 1935 respectively. She was the first black female to earn a PhD from OSU, and among the first cohort of African-American women to be awarded a PhD in psychology in North America.

After completing an undergraduate degree in home economics, Turner accepted a position as head of the department of home economics at Wilberforce University in Xenia, OH. During this time, she completed a master's degree in education from OSU by taking courses during the summer months. Her master's work was supervised by experimental psychologist Samuel Renshaw. Turner continued to work with Renshaw for her doctoral studies. Her dissertation was entitled, "The Effects of Practice on the Perception and Memorization of Digits Presented in Single Exposure."

Following the completion of her doctoral degree, Turner took on a number of short-term appointments. She first moved to North Carolina, where she served as head of the department of home economics at Winston-Salem College from 1935 to 1936. The next two years were spent in Jefferson City, Mo., as both professor of psychology and head of the Lincoln University home economics department. She then moved to Southern University in Baton Rouge, La., heading the school's home economics department from 1938 to 1939, at which time she returned to North Carolina. She served as the head of Bennett College for Women's home economics department until 1942. During this period, she lectured on consumer issues at the college, and in the summer of 1941, was awarded a fellowship to Stephens College in Columbia, Mo., for study at the school's institute of consumer education. She was the first black woman to do so.

Throughout her life, Turner experienced race-based discrimination and fought for equal rights. In 1925, she and a group of friends challenged the hosting of the white-only junior-senior prom at their high school by trying to attend, but were denied entry. In 1938, Turner attempted to purchase movie tickets at the white-only Palace Theatre in Columbus, OH, in protest of the theatre's discriminatory practices. She fought against such injustices through her participation in the Vanguard League as well as other civil rights groups. The legal and social efforts of these organizations in the 1930s and 1940s led to the abolishment of race-based admittance policies at restaurants and theatres in downtown Columbus. Turner also lectured on racial issues, including the issue of interracial marriage in the United States. It is for her battle for equal rights that Turner wished to be remembered.

Source: https://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/ethnicity-health/psychologists/turner.aspx

Guest UserFebruary 15, 2021