Frances Cress Welsing, MD (Sunrise March 18, 1935/Sunset January 2, 2016)
Frances Cress Welsing, through the sacred womb of
her mother, Ida Mae Griffen, seeded by the heavenly
sperm of her father, Henry N.
Cress, entered the realm of the visible on March 18, 1935. I imagine that Frances’ mother and father sent Asa G.
Hilliard, Bobby Wright, Nzinga Coppock-Warfield and Harriett Pipes McAdoo to
escort her into the after-life. She quietly returned to the realm of the invisible
on January 2, 2016.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Frances
graduated from Antioch College and Howard University’s medical school. Her first major contribution came in 1970
with the publication of “The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism
(White Supremacy).” Dr. Welsing’s The Isis Papers, was published 1991. For
many The Isis Papers is considered a essential theoretical and practical contribution to our understanding of white supremacy, what it is and how it operates, and required reading for all those interested in the psycho-biological origins and
manifestations of white supremacy and racism.
I am honored to say that Frances was my long time friend and sister in our struggle for liberation. To speak
of her transition, of her moving on to be among the Dwellers of Heaven is as unexpected as it is difficult. Like Queen Tiye, Hatshepsut, Queen Nzinga, Harriett Tubman, Cecile
Fatiman, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Barbara Jordan, she was a
fierce warrior, a supreme intellect, a beautiful woman, a gentle soul, a
defender of the race, a lover of Blackness and a visionary. She was our Queen Mother.
While some will say her greatest contribution
is found in the melanin theory and others her "Unified Field Theory Psychiatry,”
While some will say her greatest contribution is
found in the melanin theory and others her "Unified Field Theory Psychiatry,” I think the best way to honor Frances in this space is to let her speak for herself. " In The Isis Papers Frances
said,
“White people are the
genetically defective descendants of albino mutants,” and she went on to explain that certain inherent and
behavioral differences between black and white people were due to a
"melanin deficiency" in white people. She offered us a functional
definition of racism as “the local and global power system and dynamic structure
maintained by persons who classify themselves as white, whether consciously or
subconsciously determined; which consists of patterns of perception, logic,
symbol formation, thought, speech, action, and emotional response, as
conducted, simultaneously in all areas of people activity (economics,
education, entertainment, labor, law, politics, religion, sex, and war); for
the ultimate purpose of white genetic survival and to prevent white genetic
annihilation on planet Earth.”
In her
"Unified Field Theory Psychiatry" she proposed a broader framework,
encompassing biology, psychology, and physics, as prerequisites to
understanding the etiology of a unified field of energy phenomena, specifically
the "behavior-energy" underlying racial conflict.
Considered
by Maulana Karenga to represent the radical school of Black Psychology, Frances
along with Dr. Bobby Wright Jr. used their expertise in western psychiatry and
psychology to critically examine the behavioral dysfunctioning of the advocates
of white supremacy. Her scholarship, in my opinion, helped to consecrate Black
Psychology’s separation from the toxic psychopathic core of western thought. To
only sound-bite Frances’ genius is almost insulting. Starting in
the late 80’s, her scholarly contributions have been reflected in a series of
annual melanin conferences led by Dr. Richard King; provided inspiration for
the works of D. Phillip McGee, Carol Barnes, Neferkare
Stewart, Edward Bruce Bynum; and, a host of Black
psycho-biologists and neuro-scientists.
Her
thoughts and ideas, especially her unified field of behavioral energy theory,
require and deserve the greatest of attention, study, research, critique and
application. Above all, Dr. Frances Cress Welsing’s life and works must be
placed in the active resource arsenal for the liberation of the African mind
and the restoration of the true equilibrium of humanity.
The great word-Goddess, Maya Angelou who preceded Frances
in transitioning said "Listen to yourself and in that quietude you
might hear the voice of God." She also said, "Mighty
women have been with us and for us from the beginning of time. “…”And when
great souls die, after a period, peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly.
Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored,
never to be the same, whisper to us: They existed. They existed. We can be. Be
and be better. For they existed.”
In this
moment of quietude, listen to this mighty Black woman, Dr. Frances Cress
Welsing whisper to our souls. Read her thoughts and ideas that can bring forth
our electric vibration. Because Frances Cress Welsing lived, our sense of who
we are can never be the same. Whisper Dr.
Frances Cress Welsing, as a great mighty Black woman, existed. Or maybe rather
than whisper, we should shout out loud. She, Frances Cress Welsing, exists. She
exists in the realm of the invisible. She exists amongst the Dwellers of Heaven.
She exists in the fabric of our minds. Dr. Frances Cress Welsing exists. This
great soul, my friend and sister, will exist forever.
I give thanks
that I knew her, sat in her presence and shared oxygen, earth and time. May we all give praise that Dr. Frances
Cress Welsing walked amongst us: Maa Kheru, my dear sister and comrade in struggle,
sacrifice and ultimate victory.
Wade W.
Nobles, Ph.D. Founding Member and Past President, The ABPsi
Ifágbęmi Sàngódáre, Nana Kwaku Berko, I, Bejana, Onebunne
