Humanizing the Racialized Self

The aim of this article is to address axioms of humanistic psychology, such as individual meaning-making and authentic personal power, as they are relatable to the experiences of Blacks and other People of Color. The effects of racialization generally preclude these groups of individuals from fully partaking in the entitlements that many Whites inherit at birth. As such, the author suggests a new manner of conceptualizing existentialism and humanistic psychology for the racialized self. The author presents many of the ideological issues in humanistic psychology that could be reconsidered for a deeper relevance to People of Color, with a particular focus on authentic love ideology.