Cross, William E., Jr. (1940-)

Frank C. Worrell

William E. Cross, Jr., is an African American social psychologist who is best known for his Nigrescence model of Black racial identity. The power of Cross's original Nigrescence model, which was first articulated in 1971, is evident by its adoption in the theorizing about other cultural identities, including minority, racial, ethnic, feminist, womanist, and gay/lesbian identities. The later versions of the model (i.e., the revised and expanded models in 1991 and 2001, respectively) have not only advanced the theorizing about Black racial identity, but the 2001 revision also resulted in a psychometrically supported measurement model, the Cross Racial Identity Scale. Cross is one of the most frequently cited names in the Black racial identity literature. Cross's interest in the identity of African Americans came, in part, out of the segregated social context of the times in which he grew up. He was the fourth child and first son of William ...

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