Darlene C. DeFour, Ph.D. is a social/community psychologist. She is a proud HBCU grad. “Fisk Forever!”  She received her MA and PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Dr. DeFour is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at Hunter College of the City University of New York.  She is a past member of the Board of Directors of the New York Association of Black Psychologists and has served on the board of directors of the national association. 

 Dr. DeFour’s research has focused on students of color’s social networks and mentoring; and the impact of race and gender in the occurrence of sexual harassment, with particular emphasis on the experiences of African American women.  The theme of her work is the exploration of the various ways that stress and violence in the form of racism and sexism as well as physical violence affects the everyday lives of adolescent and adult Black females.  She is also conducting a life history project on the original Tuskegee Airmen exploring experiences with racism and perceptions of the continued significance of race.

In addition to her scholarly activities around stopping violence, she has been working with national and international women’s martial arts organizations to develop workshops which address the subtle forms of racism that frequently go unaddressed in women’s self-defense programs  highlighting the need for anti-oppression training as a core competence for all self-defense teachers and other professionals committed to social justice.