On April 6, 2001, the Archives of the History of American Psychology held a one-day conference to honor the work of Dr. Robert V. Guthrie. Among his many accomplishments, the history of psychology community recognizes his significant contributions to the history of the psychology of race and racism and his pioneering efforts to recognize the contributions of the first generation of African American psychologists in America. . His 1976 book, Even The Rat Was White was a seminal work in detailing the history of African American psychologists in the 20th century and it has recently been released in a second edition. Dr. Guthrie was also honored for naming the Archives of the History of American Psychology as the official repository for his papers, the first African American psychologist to be included in the manuscript collections of the archives.

Presentations and workshops by Robert V. Guthrie, Reginald Jones, Joseph White, Robert L. Williams, Birdean Williams, Nancy Boyd-Franklin, Thomas Parham, and James Jones provided insights into understanding the history of African American psychologists and psychology, psychology in historically black colleges and universities, and contemporary issues impacting traditionally underrepresented groups in psychology. Dr. Guthrie's contributions were formally recognized by the Association of Black Psychologists, Division 26 (History of Psychology) and Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues) of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Henry Tomes, Head of the Public Interest Directorate of the APA, presented a presidential citation on behalf of Dr. Norine Johnson and the American Psychological Association.