The black autobiography as a teaching tool in psychiatry.

The author outlines a seminar which is aimed especially at improving the capacity of psychiatrists and medical students to understand the emotional conflicts of their black patients as well as the therapists' own race-related attitudes and behaviors. The course is based on the study of black autobiographical literature, which is illustrated here by use of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. The author shows how the black autobiography can be a powerful catalyst for the discussion of issues such as the symbolic value of black skin color and pervasive black-white distrust.