Black History Month Feature: Kenneth and Mamie Clark

February is Black History Month! This year’s theme is “Black Health and Wellness” and the Hudson College of Public Health Sovereignty, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Council is offering a three-week feature highlighting the many ways in which the Black community has contributed to healthcare!

Kenneth and Mamie Clark are psychologists who are best known for their “doll tests”. During the 1940s, Kenneth and Mamie Clark performed a series of experiments to see the psychological and social effects that segregation had on African American children. Their experiments were known as “doll tests” and included children subjects from ages 3 to 7 who would pick which doll they prefer to play with- the only difference in the dolls being the color of the skin. The goal of this experiment was to test the children’s racial perceptions. The results concluded that the majority of the children preferred the white doll over the black doll, showing that discrimination and segregation was the blame for this prejudice and created a feeling of inferiority over the African American children.

Although the tests were concluded about 14 years prior to Brown v. Board of Ed, Dr. Kenneth Clark was approached by Brown team members to use his research to bring an end to school segregation. The findings proved that continual segregation of schools and children will ultimately lead to further issues with discrimination and prejudice and feeling of inferiority among African American children. Thanks to the work of the Clarks, the US Supreme Court ruled in the decision to desegregate schools.