Dr. Kenneth Clark: Biographical Sketch

Kenneth Bancroft Clark: A Historical Profile

Thesis Statement

Throughout the course of history, significance has come from not only people who are known all across the world, but on a continuous wave with others who devote themselves to a cause and accomplish goals that change the way people interact with one another. The life and opportunities that Dr. Kenneth B. Clark worked for through a combination of passionate social research and consistent belief in unity and teamwork have impacted the United States and the world even until this day. With the intensity of service that Dr. Clark showcased, the integration of schools in America, the possibilities and opportunities (not only for Black children but all children) opened through being able to study at schools with better materials, and the implementation of social sciences into the influence of law were all brought to realization.

Biological Sketch

Kenneth Bancroft Clark was born, to Jamaican (at least by birth) parents, in the Canal Zone of Panama. He was born in 1914 and has a sister, Beulah, whom with his mother relocated to New York City when they were both very young. Being in New York City, Clark was raised in his younger years in neighborhoods and schools that were made up of mostly White Americans but as he began to age his schools started to become majority black [1]. This balance between the separations of the groups would be instrumental in his belief that all races of children should be part of an inclusive educational system. As an excelling student, due to the lack of black inclusion in University level schooling, he opted for Howard University instead of going after the more Ivy League programs. While at Howard it is important to note that Clark’s ideology toward racial equality and unity flourished due to many people surrounding him who shared in similar ideas. From Francis Cecil Sumner (a psychologist, who was his biggest influence)[2] to the many attorneys who would go on to influence the civil rights movement[3]. Once graduated, but still attending Howard as a graduate student, Clark met Mamie Phipps. Kenneth Clark married Mamie in 1937, much to the concern of her parents.

After Mamie graduated and took a job in Washington D.C., they began to do research together dealing with subjects for which they’d become known. Lawyers like Thurgood Marshall worked on cases that aimed to fight segregation, enlisting social researcher’s like Mamie (and Kenneth by association) Clark to help. Based on his wife’s studies, Clark too began to become involved in the studies that would eventually develop into the infamous doll tests. Clark received his education after Howard University at Columbia University, along with his wife, in the studies of social sciences. The poignancy of Kenneth B. Clark’s time at Columbia was the dichotomy of battles or “experimentation [4]” at Columbia University at the time. The white faculty and scientists who were studying or working at Columbia held the belief that Clark wouldn’t be able to keep up with the others attending, let alone make a name for himself and excel. Not only did Clark surprise the staff with his abilities, he paved the way for Mamie to enter the school while carrying their child. Similarly to the completion of Kenneth Clark’s doctoral studies in 1940, The Clark’s next child, Hilton (the first was named Kate) came to life the year of completion of Mamie’s doctoral studies. After graduation, Kenneth became the first black professor at the City College of New York [5]. He continued to assist his wife in her studies of racial identification (specifically amongst young black children). Along with Mamie, Kenneth concluded that the image that black children learned very young was one that lacked any positivity. This early research, led to Kenneth Clark’s participation in the infamous Brown v. Board of Education case. The NAACP usage of Dr. Clark goes beyond just scientific research extending to his testimony stating the affects that segregation has to further the negative images that black children have of themselves. The testimony was an integral part in the successful campaign to desegregate schools with the passing of the Brown v. Board of Education case. After this case Clark’s place in the Civil Rights movement was set, as he continued devotedly to fight for integration in schools nationally as well as in intellectual communities. The Clark’s opened up the Northside Center for Child Development, as well as helping to create the Metropolitan Applied Research Center [6]. Kenneth Clark served as a visiting professor at many of the top universities in the country including Harvard and UC Berkeley. In 1971, he served as the president of the American Psychological Association, the first African American to do so. He retired from working in the academic field in 1975. Within a decade later his wife Mamie, passed, Clark continued to pursue the cause of integration for the rest of his life. In 2005, Kenneth Clark died, remembered by many but not enough.

Contributions

Kenneth B. Clark’s major contribution to the people of the United States and abroad comes in the form of his work on the integration of schools in the United States of America. Dr. Clark and Mamie’s work with the doll tests of the 1940’s shined a lot of light on a subject that had otherwise before been swept under a rug and not given much respect. Without the evidence that segregation had a psychological effect on children of African American heritage as well as children who were not, the case would not have passed unanimously through the convincing of Chief Justice Earl Warren. The court ruling that segregation in schools was unconstitutional was a sparking point for the desegregation of other parts of American society. The desegregations of schools was not an immediate action, although it was enforced by the courts. This slow start just further highlighted the racial tension of the country. This racial tension existing in the country for decades beforehand is a direct connection to the mental problems that come with segregation. If one person is separated from another, and the person see’s their opposite as the power system, naturally they will feel a sense of inferiority.

Another major contribution crucial in Dr. Kenneth B Clark’s legacy is the abundance of opportunities that he left behind him. It would be easy to pinpoint the desegregation of the educational system as the source of opportunity that Clark provided but this is not a complete perspective. The previous years to his involvement with the Brown v. Board of Education case, during all of his studies and his work post-Brown case in the academic fields achieving status never before seen by African American intellectuals. His studies at Columbia opened the doors for the onrush of students who would begin to study in higher level programs, especially in Ivy League schools. The popular belief in the highest ranking schools and programs was the Black Americans could not operate at similar paces intellectually as other races could. They would use this as an excuse to not accept students, believing that it would be unfair to the black students as well as other students who could participate at a level of the program. Once he complete his work as a student, Clark embarked into opening doors in leadership positions. He was the first African American professor at the City College of New York and traveled throughout America teaching at other schools. He also served as the first black president of the American Psychological Association, increasing the possibilities of black students pursuing the career by example [7].

Dr. Kenneth Clark’s focus and love was the social sciences, a third major contribution that currently affects the majority of law related cases today is the way that he and the NAACP incorporated the scientific research into strategy. In today’s law system, using scientific evidence from the social sciences may be considered commonplace but it was virtually unheard of at the time of the Brown v. Board of Education case. Not only did the usage of the doll tests and psychological research add another layer to that specific case (it may’ve been the turning point in Chief Justice Earl Warren’s decision) but it had a major historical impact on the future of the law outside of class or racial boundaries that the Brown v. Board of Education case dealt [8]. Once the social sciences were taken serious as evidence rather than as show, the respect of social scientist in the eyes of lawmakers grew.

All three of these major contributions tie into each other and common thread throughout his life of unity and loyalty to people and causes. Kenneth, and his wife Mamie, realized that they would not be able to help progression of the possibilities of Black Americans without taking tasks into their own hands and opening organizations that were dedicated to those same factors that made Dr. Clark brilliant and likeable in many communities [9].

Significance

The significance of desegregating schools can be described in many different terms but is most evident in the definition of America. The United States of America represents itself as a type of melting pot where people mix and operate with one another without losing their own distinctive cultures and family traits. If something as integral as the education system cannot function with all of its pieces as a whole, the outlook of the world will be that the United States does not truly stand behind its morals. More directly, it has a major effect on African American children and parents all over the nation. The children now have the ability to study at schools where materials are updated more regularly and that give them a better chance in the world. Desegregation of schools is important because it marked one of the first major victories of the Civil Rights movement. Kenneth Clark’s participation in the case and the final verdict shows that desegregation had an immediate impact; this is significant because it made citizens face the realities of their past fears and the obligations of the future.

The opportunities that Dr. Clark opened up for the public, specifically Black Americans, have had a never ending significance to the state of the nation. With Black American’s open to a whole host of new possibilities it increases the self-confidence of each generation’s belief in their ability to accomplish their dreams. The opportunities also promised a path for economic development in the black community. This would play a major part in how much power Black Americans in the country in upcoming generations. To gain power that Black Americans could achieve without losing what they believed to be their cultural identity would lead to more opportunities for Black Americans to go after in the future. Dr. Clark’s work with the Northside Center for Child Development and the Harlem Youth which specialized specifically in the development of young black people to succeed in the world.

Social sciences and the work that Kenneth Clark dealt in within the sciences are significant due to the way we view facts. Taking material and proving a conclusion through the usage of the people and environment around them. This helped to pass some of the most crucial cases in history. This strategy used in Brown v. Board of Education showed the importance of the study of people. What better way to persuade people what is right or wrong, than to study, analyze, and attempt to understand the people who are involved? The social sciences studied the self-image of black and white children, listing the differences in confidence between the two. Once this material has been studied it is then possible to find solutions to the problems. This is exactly why his testimony and research in the Brown v Board of Education case was so effective [10]. It was a solution to a crippling problem in the United States of America.

Conclusion

Dr. Kenneth B. Clark was a fellow who worked closely with those who he believed in. Whether it was the NAACP during the Brown v. Board of Education case or his psychological doll tests completed with his wife Mamie Clark. He had a way of convincing people of making grand decisions that would be impactful not only immediately but in the future as well. His works as well as the way he lived his life is evidence enough of the power of unity and integration’s possibility in America. When remembering Clark, think about the organizations and the laws he helped succeed rather than his individual achievements.

“The basic things you've learned stay the same. The world is right there in front of you in more or less dreamlike incarnations: moving water; tall buildings; ridiculous pain; voices singing; people to love. Your job is to imagine yourself in it. When it rains, You rain. When the birds fly, they fly inside of You.” –Ben Polk [11]