About the Author

Hi! My name is Justice Beverly! Although I've lived in North Carolina most of my life, I claim Tappahannock, Virginia, as home. I am a senior at East Carolina University, majoring in psychology and have completed my minor in Composite Natural Science. I am scheduled to graduate from ECU's Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences on May 5th, 2023 and I am very excited! After graduation, I have the intention of returning to East Carolina University to obtain my Masters degree in Adult Education with special emphasis on Community College Instruction and Student Affairs in Higher Education.  

I took the senior capstone course, Advanced General Psychology during the Fall 2022 semester at ECU with Dr. Kendell Thornton. During the course, one of the major assignments was a capstone paper in which I was to develop and take a stance on an argument surrounding a topic of my choosing that had to relate to a specific branch of psychology. I chose to examine the positive and negative impacts of social psychology on black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) in American society during the twenty-first century. 

I found that I had a personal connection to this study given that I am 33 percent black with roots to the Yoruba people (located in modern-day Nigeria), 33 percent Indigenous with roots to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma and the Monacan Nation of Virginia, and 33 percent Samoan. Additionally, I learned that Native American men make up less than 0.1% of ECU's total student population. Because of which, I was also motivated to learn how Natives retained their cultural pride and customs despite attending a predominately-white institution (PWI). I really enjoyed doing this study and learning more about the positives and negatives of social psychology and how it is a crucial part of my communities. I also enjoyed learning more about why my cultures are significant and different from others.