{"id":8303,"date":"2024-04-16T16:33:38","date_gmt":"2024-04-16T20:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithonthefringe\/?p=8303"},"modified":"2024-05-17T13:56:27","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T17:56:27","slug":"mamie-and-kenneth-clark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithonthefringe\/2024\/04\/mamie-and-kenneth-clark\/","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cDoll Test\u201d and the Damage of Segregation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The \u201cDoll Test\u201d<\/a> of Drs. Mamie and Kenneth Clark uncovered the mental and emotional damage of segregation in the United States in 1950.<\/p>\n

The landmark study helped influence the Supreme Court\u2019s 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education<\/em> ruling that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional.<\/p>\n

Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark.\u00a0 Photo: Library of Congress<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n*
** *For those who think that \u201cchildren don\u2019t see color,\u201d children certainly do, and they develop negative beliefs about race very, very young.<\/p>\n

Published in the summer of 1950, their study, \u201cEmotional<\/em> Factors in Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children,\u201d<\/a> documented the psychological effects of segregation on African-American children.<\/p>\n

In the experiment, the Clarks showed two dolls, one white and the other black, to black children ages 3 to 7, and asked the children these questions:<\/p>\n

\nGive me the doll that you like to play with\u2014 like best.<\/em><\/li>\nGive me the doll that is a nice doll.<\/em><\/li>\nGive me the doll that looks bad.<\/em><\/li>\nGive me the doll that is a nice color.<\/em><\/li>\nGive me the doll that looks like a white child.<\/em><\/li>\nGive me the doll that looks like a colored child.<\/em><\/li>\nGive me the doll that looks like a Negro child.<\/em><\/li>\nGive me the doll that looks like you.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n*
** A majority of the children in both the segregated south and the racially mixed north preferred the white doll. The children assigned positive characteristics to the white doll and responded negatively to the black doll.<\/p>\n
** The Clarks concluded that \u201cprejudice, discrimination, and segregation\u201d created a feeling of inferiority among African-American children and damaged their self-esteem.<\/p>\n
** *Of course, the opposite is true as well \u2013 whites in a segregated United States saw themselves as superior and treated African-Americans as inferior.<\/p>\n

What has changed in 74 years?<\/h3>\n***
** Nothing.<\/p>\n
** ***Prejudice, discrimination and social segregation continue to create an environment of racist oppression for a portion of Americans.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement\u2019s use of \u201cStop and Frisk\u201d policies across the country result in darker-skinned people being detained and questioned by police overwhelmingly more than light-skinned people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Conservative courts and lawmakers continue to attack and dismantle hard won advancements for African Americans.<\/a><\/p>\n

Without a hint of irony or self-awareness, racists who oppose everything Martin Luther King, Jr.<\/a> stood for venerate him once a year on his birthday.<\/p>\n

In a recent version of the experiment with children in Singapore<\/a>, the results were disheartening, as we watch children select a white doll as superior and then are forced to recognize that the doll they just identified as bad looks most like them.<\/p>\n

In every facet of society, racism impacts and poisons the lives of African Americans, diminishing the so-called American dream and isolates white people in comfortable bubbles of white supremacy.<\/p>\n

If you have any doubts, conduct the experiment yourself.<\/h3>\n***
** Buy two identical black and white dolls and show them to children of any race, ask the same questions, and you\u2019ll almost certainly receive the same answers.<\/p>\n
** Until the United States seriously addresses racism in our society, our nation\u2019s \u2018original sin\u2019 of racism will continue to damage the lives of all Americans. This fact is so obvious, even a child can see it.<\/p>\n
** ***\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jim Meisner, Jr.<\/em><\/strong><\/a> is the author of the novel <\/em>Faith, Hope, and Baseball, <\/em><\/strong>available on Amazon<\/em><\/strong><\/a>, or <\/em><\/strong>follow this link to order an autographed copy<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. He created the Facebook page Faith on the Fringe<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"****

The \u201cDoll Test\u201d of Drs. Mamie and Kenneth Clark uncovered the mental and emotional damage of segregation in the United States in 1950. The landmark study helped influence the Supreme Court\u2019s 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that separating children in public schools on the basis of race was unconstitutional. For those who think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3527,"featured_media":8486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,14],"tags":[2372,1550,2375],"class_list":["post-8303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-civil-rights-2","category-culture","tag-mamie-and-kenneth-clark","tag-racism","tag-segregation"],"yoast_head":"\nThe \u201cDoll Test\u201d and the emotional damage of segregation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The \u201cDoll Test\u201d of Drs. 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