Summary: The History Of Kenneth B. Clark

The History of Kenneth B. Clark

An Introduction to Kenneth B. Clark Kenneth Bancroft Clark was born on July 14th, from the country of Panama. His father, Arthur Bancroft Clark worked as a manager for the United Fruit Company. His mother was Jamaican-born housewife, Miriam Hanson Clark. Despite the comfortable living situation in Panama, Kenneth’s mother wanted her family go grow up in the United States, where there were more opportunities for her children. Kenneth’s father, however, declined. He did not want to leave his job to go to the United States where he would not be treated equally. Despite his father’s objection, his mother proceeded to move without him. When Kenneth was five years old, his parents
decided to separate. His mother took him and Kenneth’s sister, Beulah to the United States. The trio resided in Harlem, New York City. Speaking English and Spanish, Kenneth was known by both African-American and Irish children in his new neighborhood as “Spanie”. Kenneth’s mother faced economic poverty in the slums of Harlem. The family lived each day on the meager earnings Miriam received by working as a seamstress for a sweat shop.
In school, Kenneth never remembered race being an issue.
He attended a predominantly all white school with Irish children from his neighborhood. Jewish children from the West Side, and a small number of African-American children also attended his school. Kenneth first discovered the tensions between the races when an African-American student teacher, Hubert Delany, came to teach in school. It was then when Kenneth began to realize how racial awareness was in his own life. “Delany was apparently at City College, and had come down to do his practice teaching at P.S. 5, and I remember one of my classmates telling me that there was a colored teacher, and I went to the door to look at him. I was so proud… I remember the joy, the pride, the thrill I had, and I think I went home and told my mother that I saw a colored teacher” (Markowitz and Rosner 1996). As Kenneth attended a public junior high school, he was pressured by his teachers to learn a trade. During this time, African-American children were advised to learn a trade because of the barriers they faced in the workforce. Kenneth’s mother refused to let her son become a product of vocational training. Things worked out for Kenneth since he had an interest in reading about ideas than going to school for a trade job. “He spent countless hours at the 135th Street branch of the New York Public Library. He came under the tutelage of Arthur Schomburg, whose extensive collection of books and documents of the 20th century Harlem bear
his name” (Jones & Pettigrew 2005). He was then transferred to George Washington High School in Upper Manhattan. Kenneth graduated high school in 1931. After high-school, Kenneth chose to attend Howard University, a historically black university. At Howard, he met Mamie Phipps, his future wife. He obtained his Bachelorette’s degree in 1935. In 1936, he acquired his master’s degree in psychology while attending Howard University. Kenneth attended Columbia University for his doctorate in psychology. In 1940, Kenneth Clark was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Together, the Clarks integrated Kenneth’s need for easing race relations and Mamie’s love for children and built the Northside Center for Children in 1946. In 1954, The Clarks contributed to one of the most groundbreaking and revolutionary cases of all time—Brown v. Board of Education. In conjunction to the Northside Center, Kenneth established HARYOU inc. to help children who were falling behind in school. Together, Kenneth and Mamie had two children together, a daughter named Kate and a son named Hilton. Kenneth died on May 1st, 2005.
Kenneth Clark served as a member of the council for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues from 1954 until he was appointed as president from 1959 to 1960. In 1969, Clark served as a member of the American Psychological Association. He also served as the president of the APA from 1970 to 1971. He was also elected as the president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science from 1970 to 1971.
Kenneth Clark and the Northside Center Kenneth and his wife, Mamie sought to create a place where children of all races in Harlem could go for psychiatric help. The Clarks called this place, The Northside Center for Child Development. Established February 28th, 1946, the center’s primary goal was to provide psychiatric care and counseling to children of all races in Harlem. No other mental health clinic in the city was lead by black professionals, especially those with the credentials similar to the Clarks’. Three-fourths of the children at Northside were black, while one-fourth were white. All children were under the age of sixteen. Northside was also strategically placed in an area where the Jewish, Italian, Irish, and African American communities all bordered each other. Kenneth believed it was a great way for Northside to get business from all communities.

The Clark Doll Studies
The Clark Doll studies were lead by Kenneth and his wife, Mamie Clark. These studies were the basis of Mamie Clark’s master’s degree thesis, which focused on children and self-perceptions. The focus of the study related to stereotypes and children’s self-perceptions according to race. “The results of the Clark’s study were used to prove that school segregation was distorting the minds of young black kids, causing them to internalize stereotypes and racism, to the point of making them hate themselves” (Keppel 2002). Within this experiment, Kenneth observed a large amount of African-American children within the ages of six to nine years of age. He presented them with two dolls, one white and the other, black. The children were asked a series of questions. The first question asked the children which doll they liked the best. Next, they were told to differentiate between the dolls that they perceived to be nice, good or bad. Another question asked them to differentiate between the white and black doll. Finally, the children were asked which doll looked like them.
Kenneth Clark concluded that the black children chose to play with the white dolls more than the black dolls. When the children were asked to fill in a picture of a human figure with the color of their own skin, they frequently chose a lighter shade than their actual skin color. The children also gave the white doll positive attributes such as good, nice, and pretty. On the other hand, the black doll was attributed to being bad and ugly. The last question asked by Kenneth was considered the worst since most of the children already identified the black doll as “bad”. Almost all of the children said the black doll looked like them. Others refused to pick a doll and started to cry and run away.
Kenneth concluded that his study had reliable evidence to suggest that African-American children had internalized racism that stemmed from being discriminated and segregated. “The doll studies demonstrated that although Negro children in both the South and the North could accurately identify their race, they did not “identify with” their race. When asked to show the experimenter the doll that “looks like you,” they correctly chose the brown doll 90% of the time. When asked to show the doll that was pretty, nice, and with whom they would like to play, two thirds of the Black children chose the white doll over the brown doll. Clark argued that the color line was etched in these children’s minds by forced racial segregation” (Jones & Pettigrew 2005). In that moment, Kenneth became aware of the evidence that discrimination and segregation had on African-American children.
Brown v. Board of Education In the year 1951, Kenneth Clark was a professor teaching at City College in New York City. Clark received a phone call from Robert Carter, an attorney for the NAACP. Carter asked Clark to assist the NAACP with Brown v. Board of Education. In 1954, racially segregated schools were in place according to law in seventeen states. Other forms of segregation were found in churches, theaters, buses, and restaurants. In 1954, the doll experiment was used to help persuade the American Supreme Court that separate but equal schools for African-American and Caucasian students were not equal at all. Both Kenneth and his wife, Mamie were expert witnesses in the case. Together, the two of them presented their findings on their doll studies. The Supreme court announced that segregation of black and white students was unconstitutional. The court held that there were significant amounts of psychological and social disadvantages toward African-American children. Their experiment marked the beginning of the end to the Jim Crow laws.
Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited After the news on Brown v. Board of Education, Kenneth became increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of progress on school desegregation. “Dissatisfied by the lack of progress in school desegregation in New York City and discouraged by the inability of traditional social welfare organizations to address the problems of race and poverty, Clark argued that a new approach had to be developed to mobilize the black poor to gain the political and economic power that would solve their problems” (Freeman 2008). In 1962, Kenneth developed and lead the HARYOU program—Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited. The purpose of the program was to increase opportunities in education and work for the employment of young African-American youths located in Harlem and the ghettoes.
Kenneth established after-school centers that focused on teaching basis academic skills to elementary and junior high students who were behind in their studies. The HARYOU program also taught the resident of Harlem to work with government agencies to meet their demands. Another goal of Kenneth’s was to integrate the New York City schools. However, this goal was short lived. Parents of both races objected to his idea. Caucasian parents did not want their children attending schools in the inner city. African-American parents did not want their children to attend schools outside of the city since it would take hours for their children to get there.
Published Books by Kenneth B. Clark
In 1955, Kenneth published Prejudice and your Child.
In his book, he analyzes the impact on racial prejudice and its effect on white and black children. Clark also provides counseling and a plan for action. In 1965, after his contribution to the Brown v. Board of Education case, Clark published Dark Ghetto: Dilemmas of Social Power. In his book, he re-visited the streets of Harlem as an “involved observer”. His intent was to understand the issues that lower-class African Americans faced in the Harlem slums. He believed that the residents of Harlem’s ghettos have complex and combined issues including, financial problems, family instability, and sexual misbehavior. A Possible Reality: A design for the Attainment of High Academic Achievement for Inner-City Students was written by Clark and published in 1972. The book itself represents the importance of motivation and determination to improve education in inner cities. Three years later, Kenneth wrote Pathos of
Power.
Awards and Accomplishments earned by Kenneth Clark
Kenneth’s hard work for civil rights earned him the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal in 1961. The NAACP nominated him for his involvement in promoting integration and improving race relations. In 1966, Columbia University awarded both Kenneth and Mamie Clark the Nicholas Murray Butler Silver Metal for their significant work. Four years later, Columbia University once again awarded Kenneth an honorary doctorate. In the year 1994, Kenneth was presented with the American Psychological Association award for Outstanding Lifetime Contribution to Psychology. Clark was one of six psychologists to receive that award.
Conclusion
Kenneth B. Clark was one of the most influential psychologists of his time. His work regarding race relations and desegregation was most memorable. He and his wife, Mamie established two centers to help children in need of special care—The Northside Center for Children and Harlem Youth Opportunities Unlimited. He published notable books on the effects of segregation and discrimination on African-American children. Kenneth received multiple awards from different institutions for his contributions to psychology and society as a whole. Kenneth B. Clark broke the barriers of racial boundaries and became a timeless figure in the fight for civil rights.

References
Benjamin Jr., L. T., & Crouse, E. M. (2002). The American Psychological Association 's Response to Brown v. Board of Education. American Psychologist, 57(1), 38.
Bergner, G. (2009). Black Children, White Preference: Brown v. Board, the Doll Tests, and the Politics of Self-Esteem. American Quarterly, 61(2), 299-332.
Clark, K. B., Chein, I., & Cook, S. W. (2004). The Effects of Segregation and the Consequences of Desegregation: A (September 1952) Social Science Statement in the Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Supreme Court Case. American Psychologist, 59(6), 495-501.
Clark, K. B., & Klein, W. (2004). Toward humanity and justice, the writings of kenneth b. clark, scholar of the 1954 brown v. board of education decision. Praeger Publishers.
Freeman, D. (2008). Kenneth B. Clark and the problem of power. Patterns Of Prejudice, 42(4/5), 413- 437. Hall, M. K. (2010). Bringing down brown: super precedents, myths of rediscovery, and the retroactive canonization of brown v. board of education. Journal Of Law & Policy, 18(2), 655-700.
Nyman, L. (2005). An Interview with Kenneth B. Clark Teacher, Psychologist, and Fighter for Justice. Encounter, 18(2), 5-8.
Jones, J. M., & Pettigrew, T. F. (2005, September). Kenneth B. Clark (1914-2005).American Psychologist. pp. 649-651.
Keppel, B. (2002). Kenneth B. Clark in the Patterns of American Culture. American Psychologist, 57(1), 29.
Markowitz, G. E., & Rosner, D. (1996). Children, race, and power, kenneth and mamie clark 's northside center. Univ of Virginia Press.
Moss, A. M. (1967). Employment, race, and poverty. Harcourt, Brace & World.
Patton, J. (2011). Surviving the System: Pioneering Principals in a Segregated School, Lincoln High School, Forrest City, Arkansas.
Pickren, W. E., & Tomes, H. (2002). The Legacy of Kenneth B. Clark to the APA.American Psychologist, 57(1), 51.
Schaffer, G. (2007). " 'Scientific ' Racism Again ?": Reginald Gates, the Mankind Quarterly and the Question of "Race" in Science after the Second World War. Journal Of American Studies, 41(2), 253-278.
Ullucci, K. (2011). Learning to see: the development of race and class consciousness in white teachers. Race, Ethnicity & Education, 14(4), 561-577.