Boston College professor puts ‘invisibility’ into perspective

Serghino René

“I am an invisible man. No, I am not a spook like those who haunted Edgar Allan Poe; nor am I one of your Hollywood movie ectoplasms. I am a man of substance, of flesh and bone, fiber and liquids — and I might even be said to possess a mind. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. … When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination — indeed, everything and anything except me.”

— excerpted from Ralph Ellison’s “Invisible Man”

Dr. Anderson J. Franklin, an expert on the psychological wellbeing of African Americans, came to Boston College in January to teach and further his research on the impact of invisibility among African American males and females.

Formerly a professor in the department of psychology at the City College of the City University of New York, Franklin became the second holder of the Honorable David S. Nelson Professorial Chair — offered to a distinguished professor who reflects the educational aspirations and human qualities Nelson exhibited during his career as U.S. District Court judge.

“I brought my study to the university because it’s an opportunity to continue my scholarly work and allows master’s, doctoral and some undergrad students to get involved with my research as well,” said Franklin.

Franklin’s clinical work has led him to develop a theory called the “invisibility syndrome.” Dr. Chester Pierce, a Harvard professor, was the first to start talking about this theory and Franklin has chosen to explore it further.

Best explained in Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel “Invisible Man,” being “invisible” is nothing new among African Americans. Although times have changed since the Jim Crow era and the civil rights movement, the phenomenon — defined as an inner struggle of dealing with the feeling that one’s talents, abilities, personality and worth are not valued or recognized because of prejudice and racism — still exists.

Building on themes from the novel, Franklin’s work involves understanding what happens to the emotional and psychological stability of African Americans as they try to balance their talents and abilities with relentless stereotypes and misrepresentations. The impetus of his project is to determine how racism, and the manner in which one confronts it, is related to education, health and mental health outcomes for African Americans.

Franklin says that African American men experience slights, or what he described as “micro-aggressions,” on a daily basis, and that these experiences accumulate to create a feeling of invisibility.

“My job as a psychologist is to realize that we are different people and that we react differently to certain situations,” said Franklin. “Some people get indignant, some get depressed, some get frustrated, some may get motivated to rise above and some, after repeated negative experiences, internalize their rage.”

Women process their invisibility in a slightly different way, according to Franklin, tending “to show more resiliency in the face of adversity through the support of family, friends and community,” while men tend to be loners, even though they may have a lot of friends.

But while it may be easy to point figures at society’s misgivings, Franklin says it’s important to accept fault when it is appropriate. The professor hopes that as his research progresses, it will help individuals better decipher the lines between prejudice and racism from personal responsibility.

There is a root to Franklin’s passion for social equality. Looking back, Franklin can easily recall his days at Virginia Union University in the 1960s. Although he grew up in Brooklyn, his family had roots in Mississippi and he decided to attend college in the then-segregated South.

Angry in the face of adversity, Franklin actively participated in the movement by doing sit-ins, marching, demonstrating and even getting arrested on occasion.

“I was very much a part of the civil rights movement,” said Franklin. “I was a child of the ’60s. Although I was from New York City, I was able to experience and see how black people were viewed over a course of a lifetime. It was a different time.”

But Franklin owes a lot of his optimism to the men in his family.

“I grew up around a lot of strong men. I had my dad, my brothers and my uncles,” said Franklin. “They often talked about survival as a man, but more importantly as a black man.”

Part of his research included interviewing Mississippians between the ages of 65 and 95 years old. Franklin could only fathom the experiences these men faced living in the Deep South during the Jim Crow era.

“This was Mississippi!” said Franklin. “How can you come through adversity and maintain a positive outlook on life? It had to be a strong sense of self and strong sense of racial identity.”

Franklin has authored numerous books and articles, and co-authored “Boys into Men: Raising our African American Teenage Sons.” His latest book, “From Brotherhood to Manhood: How Black Men Rescue their Relationships and Dreams from the Invisibility Syndrome,” discusses invisibility through the personal experiences of different men. Franklin teaches courses on ethnicity and mental health, resilience and psychological wellbeing, and qualitative research interviewing.

“I am about the positive,” said Franklin. “I’m about understanding the resiliency of African Americans because through generations we have experienced adversity and have overcome adversity.”