Aubrey Spencer Escoffery

Dr. Aubrey Spencer Escoffery (1923-2023), groundbreaking Psychologist and one of the Founders of the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) was born on April 10, 1923, in New Haven, Connecticut. Aubrey was the youngest son of Gerald Somerville and Flora Jefferson Escoffery, a Jamaican father and South Carolinian mother who both came North for a better life and worked “in service” during the early years of the Great Migration. It was from his proud, Jamaican-born father that Aubrey cultivated his motivation and exigency to achieve, but it was from his soft-spoken mother Flora, whom he called “a saint,” that he developed his gentle, affable nature, genuine kindness and even keel temperament. Aubrey was very proud of his last name, his Jamaican heritage, and his solidly Caribbean influence, and fiercely instilled that pride in his children. He grew up under the undeniable influence of his Jamaican heritage; his uncles Percival, Algernon, and Frank, instilled in him a solid West Indian identity, an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and an impeccable work ethic which he carried throughout his life.

The Esdailes, Pringletons, Bakers, Carnegies and the Browns, were among Aubrey’s friends growing up as part of the Antillean Club, a West Indian society in New Haven. Although she was his older brother Gerald’s age, New Haven-born Judge Constance Baker Motley was “little Connie Baker, one of the Baker girls” to him. Aubrey loved learning and took full advantage of one of the best public educational systems in the United States. By the time his family moved to West Haven, CT in 1935, Aubrey was on his way to being one of the top students in his class. Skipping the fifth grade and graduating with honors from West Haven High school at 17, Aubrey received a four-year scholarship to Howard University, but could not attend, as a heart attack rendered his father incapable of work, and he and his brother Gerald had to support the family.

He started work at Cooley’s Chevrolet in New Haven, but later became a lathe operator at Winchester Rifle company, doing what was called “vital war work.” Earning enough money to support the family and go to school, Aubrey and his friend Leonard Pringleton took night classes in Engineering at Yale University. After two draft deferments, Aubrey went into the Army; and for the first time, witnessed the blatant specter of overt racism and segregation firsthand. The worst experiences occurred in South Carolina, when he was stationed at Camp Croft. Due to a high GT score, Aubrey was selected to attend Officer Candidate School, but was turned away with other black soldiers upon arriving at Fort Benning.

Aubrey served throughout World War II in the 4048th Quartermaster Trucking Company, attached to a British unit instead of an American one. Renowned musician and composer Duke Ellington’s son Mercer was one of his friends during the War, and the two served together frequently. During World War II, he served in the North African and China Burma India theaters, and his tour of duty included Casablanca, Algiers, Timbuktu, China, Burma, Thailand, and India. He drove trucks over the treacherous roads of the Himalaya mountains, providing supplies and building materials. During the War he was interviewed by renowned journalist Eric Sevareid. It was an experience that provided him with both a larger, more cosmopolitan worldview, and a palette for adventure.

But the most profound benefit of serving during the Great War, was the provision of Truman’s generous G.I. Bill, which singlehandedly changed the trajectory of Aubrey’s life. It was then, armed with the G.I. Bill and fortified with the definitive public-school education from New Haven, that Aubrey’s brilliance became admission to whatever Ivy League school he chose. Rather than return home to Yale, Aubrey set his sights on New York and Columbia University, as he was initially interested in a career in Journalism.

But something about the study of the mind and human behavior was compelling to Aubrey, and so began his lifelong love affair with Experimental and Clinical psychology, earning both his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Columbia, through the educational provision of the G.I. Bill. While attending Columbia as an undergraduate, Aubrey played on the football team, and his good friend Levi Jackson, an All American, played for Yale. When he would go home on weekends, he would contact Jackson, and through him, he also met another athlete from Connecticut, both on and off the gridiron, who later became President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush. Aubrey was quite proud of his Ivy League credentials, and that his diplomas were signed by then Columbia University President, Dwight D. Eisenhower. During his graduate studies at Columbia, Aubrey met the Madden brothers, William and Sam, who were attending Columbia Teachers College. Although his maternal cousin, Sam Murphy, got him a job working at Boeing, there were thousands of master’s degree psychologists in New York, and he was not yet working in his field. The Maddens told him about a small Black college in Southside Virginia and urged him to come to teach Psychology there. Married in 1948 to Mavis Dalrymple, with their first daughter Denise on the way, Aubrey took the opportunity to work in his field, although he never envisioned himself a teacher of Psychology. His degrees were in science, not education, and he wondered what he would say to fill a 50-minute block of instruction. He soon realized however, that teaching was his gift, part of his calling, and so began his 19-year journey on the faculty of Virginia State College, in Petersburg, Virginia, from 1951 to 1970.

Hired by VSC President Robert Prentiss Daniel, Mr. Escoffery was soon offered a permanent position in the Psychology department, chaired by Dr. Walter Ridley, the first African American to graduate from the University of Virginia. His oldest daughter, Denise, was born in Manhattan in 1951, but his “baby girl,” Renée, was born in Petersburg in 1956, and he raised his family in an idyllic world of social, academic and cultural strivers, on the campus of Virginia State College during the 1950s and 1960s.

Dr. Escoffery’s influence on the lives of college students was palpable; he served early on as a member of the American Psychological Association, and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. While teaching at Virginia State, Aubrey began to make his mark across the state, forging lifelong friendships and professional affiliations with psychologists and sociologists at various universities. His terminal degree, a PhD in Psychology awarded in 1967 from the University of Connecticut, was fully funded through UConn and the Commonwealth of Virginia, which, at the time, would rather pay for Black educators and scholars to leave the state, rather than integrate Virginia institutions. These relationships stood him in good stead, as later he was appointed by Governor Linwood Holton to serve on the State Board of Psychological Examiners for the Commonwealth.

It was also during the time at VSU that his brilliance and scholarship caught the eye of Dr. Lyman Beecher Brooks, who in 1968, was the first President of the newly independent Norfolk State College. Dr. Brooks sought to establish groundbreaking, fully accredited programs at his school, so he hired Professor Escoffery as Chairman of the department of Psychology in 1970. It was also there that Aubrey met and married his second wife in 1973, the late Dr. Rubelia Johnson Bailey, who served as the Vice President for Administrative Affairs at Norfolk State College. After Dr. Rubelia Escoffery’s untimely death in 1981, Dr. Escoffery met and married Bertha Taylor Morris in 1989, his wife at the time of his death in 2023. Dr. Sheryl D. Bailey and Phyllis Morris Cooper became his stepdaughters and his influence on their lives continues. Known for his many “retirements,” his careers in Education spanned almost six decades, chairing two departments of Psychology at Norfolk State and Hampton University, and teaching in several Psychology departments. His many accolades include: Founding member of the Association of Black Psychologists, Visiting Scientist for the National Science Foundation, Editorial Board for the American Psychological Association, Executive Assistant to the Chancellor, Elizabeth City State University, Provost, Edward Waters College, architect of the Master of Science program in Clinical/Community Psychology at NSU, co-architect of the Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D) degree through the University consortium, and the list continues. His commitment to service on so many levels, is reflected consistently and in every aspect of his beautiful, wonderfully lived life of 99.5 years. The impact that the little West Indian American boy from New Haven achieved during his lifetime truly attested to the brilliance, impeccable character, and tranquil mentality that Aubrey carried within his psyche. He nurtured and cultivated my intellectual curiosity, sustained my love for the historical and cultural, the Afrocentric, and the vibrancy of life, and no matter the challenge, he always provided wise counsel to me, and to so many.

His strikingly handsome and distinguished demeanor, articulate banter and broad fund of information, impeccable sense of style, engaging humor, unabashed love of travel and pragmatic, sagacious advice, coupled with his unconditional love, directed the journeys of those he loved with his whole heart, especially his devoted granddaughter, Kia K. Williams, who was the only one of his progeny courageous enough to major in Psychology, and undeniably the apple of her grandfather’s eye. I will always remember, and as his legacy, I will always treasure and uphold the collective gifts of Daddy’s unquestioning love, support, encouragement, wise counsel, and profound insight.

Rest well with our ancestors; for there are extraordinary people, in each of our lives, whose tremendous and unforgettable presence has literally informed our own life’s journey. My father, Dr. Aubrey S. Escoffery, is that person for me. We will always remember and celebrate his cherished presence in our lives. Thank you, Daddy, for all that you have done to define, shape, and guide generations of men and women in this world, forever leaving an indelible imprint on your family, your community, and beyond.