Final answer:
Dr. Kenneth Clark, who became APA President in 1970, was the first non-White individual to hold this position, marking a milestone in the advancement of diversity within the field of psychology.
Step-by-step explanation:
The first non-White person to become president of the American Psychological Association (APA) was Dr. Kenneth Clark, an African American psychologist, who was elected in 1970. While the APA itself was founded in 1892 and initially comprised exclusively of White males, the field of psychology has grown considerably in diversity since then. By 1946, a significant proportion of American psychologists were female, and as educational opportunities expanded, more psychologists from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds began to emerge.
Among these was Francis Sumner, the first African American to receive a PhD in psychology in 1920, who played a pivotal role in establishing Howard University's psychology degree program and thus influencing subsequent generations of Black psychologists. Associations like the APA and those representing minority psychologists' interests have contributed to a broader understanding and representation of cultural influences in psychological research and practice.