James Thomas Morton, Jr.

Born: 1911 in Greenwood, South Carolina
Died: 1974

Education

1936 Taught at Bennett College in North Carolina prior to earning his Ph.D.
Drafted into the army as a private and near the end of his military career he was given a direct commission as a psychologist, the only Black American to receive such an appointment during World War II.
Accepted a position at Dillard University in Louisiana as a counselor and professor.
1946 Accepted an appointment at Tuskegee Veterans’ Hospital in Alabama, becoming the first Black chief psychologist for the VA.
1948 Designated Diplomate in Clinical Psychology in the APA’s first listing of Diplomate status awards.
1953 Entered private practice and became employed at the VA Hospital at Downey, Illinois.
At the time of his death he was coordinator of training for psychology Ph.D. candidates at the VA Hospital at Downey.

On a voluntary basis, as a high school student, he taught classes in Negro history to member of the Evanston community and various church groups.
He produced an unpublished study of Black psychologists, hoping to use the data to assist in the recruitment of young Black scholars in psychology.
He compiled an immense data bank relating to the intelligence of Black Americans as measured by the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Test.
He was a pioneer for Blacks in clinical psychology and a strong advocate for equal education and employment opportunities for minority youth.