What the Children Told Us: The Untold Story of the Famous "Doll Test" and the Black Psychologists Who Changed the World

by Tim Spofford

Overview

Does racial discrimination harm Black children's sense of self?

The Doll Test illuminated its devastating toll.

Dr. Kenneth Clark visited rundown and under-resourced segregated schools across America, presenting Black children with two dolls: a white one with hair painted yellow and a brown one with hair painted black. "Give me the doll you like to play with," he said. "Give me the doll that is a nice doll." The psychological experiment Kenneth developed with his wife, Mamie, designed to measure how segregation affected Black children's perception of themselves and other Black people, was enlightening—and horrifying. Over and over again, the young children—some not yet five years old—selected the white doll as preferable, and the brown doll as "bad." Some children even denied their race. "Yes," said brown-skinned Joan W., age six, when questioned about her affection for the light-skinned doll. "I would like to be white."

What the Children Told Us is the story of the towering intellectual and emotional partnership between two Black scholars who highlighted the psychological effects of racial segregation. The Clarks' story is one of courage, love, and an unfailing belief that Black children deserved better than what society was prepared to give them, and their unrelenting activism played a critical role in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case. The Clarks' decades of impassioned advocacy, their inspiring marriage, and their enduring work shines a light on the power of passion in an unjust world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728248073
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	08/09/2022
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	488,518
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Tim Spofford’s writing career has focused on racial issues in education. Spofford has taught writing and journalism in schools and colleges and has a Doctor of Arts in English degree from the State University of New York at Albany. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Newsday, Mother Jones, and other publications. He lives with his wife, Barbara, in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Lee, Massachusetts. Visit him at timspoffordbooks.com

Editorial Reviews

05/30/2022

Journalist Spofford (Lynch Street) delivers an informative deep dive into the lives of married psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark and their groundbreaking work on the impact of school segregation and racism. Detailing the couple’s family life, scholarship, and staunch dedication to civil rights, Spofford explains the roots of their “doll test,” first performed in 1940, in which Black children were asked whether they preferred brown or white dolls. Finding that two-thirds of their test subjects chose a white doll, the Clarks concluded that Black children suffered from an “inferiority complex” and that “prejudice marred the human personality.” Spofford details how the study helped pave the way to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and spotlights the Clarks’ involvement in desegregation battles as well as their work at the Northside Testing and Consultation Center, where they treated bed-wetting, truancy, and other behaviors “with roots in Harlem’s social ills.” Spofford’s wide lens also takes in efforts to discredit the Clarks’ findings and the couple’s sometimes contentious relationship with the burgeoning Black Power movement. This detailed and sympathetic biography shines a well-deserved spotlight on two racial justice pioneers. Agent: Rachel Sussman, Chalberg & Sussman. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"This detailed and sympathetic biography shines a well-deserved spotlight on two racial justice pioneers." — Publishers Weekly

"For readers interested in a unique tale at the intersection of psychology, race, and activism, Spofford’s in-depth portrait of the Clarks will be welcome reading." — Kirkus Reviews

"Part biography, part history, and part psychological study, this emotionally charged book chronicles.... the lives and works of two extraordinary individuals who fought for racial justice and equality in one of our nation's darkest hours." — Booklist

"What the Children Told Us is straightforward reportage. It is heavily researched and documented and adds flesh to some of the bones of knowledge about the 1940s, the psychological community, and growing civil rights efforts" — Historical Novel Society

"The first book to detail the extensive work of two major contributors on the psychological effects of segregation is a worthwhile addition to collections." — Library Journal

From the Publisher

06/01/2022

Spofford (Lynch Street) has written a compelling biography of Kenneth and Mamie Clarke, the psychologists who developed the doll test. Black children were presented with two dolls, one white and one Black and asked simple questions such as "Give me the doll that is a nice doll" or "Give me the doll you would like to play with." The children consistently selected the white doll and saw the Black doll as bad. This research was pivotal in the Brown vs. Board of Education case to eradicate segregation in schools. Spofford has delivered a detailed account of the work of these two tireless academics who not only produced exact and measured research, but they were also committed to improving the lives of Black and Hispanic children in Harlem by forming the Northside Center for Child Development. Although Spofford had access to a large amount of professional and personal correspondence, his references to the Clarkes' personal lives are constrained and do not have the nuances of a good biography. VERDICT The first book to detail the extensive work of two major contributors on the psychological effects of segregation is a worthwhile addition to collections.—Jane Keenan

Library Journal

2022-05-12
A biography of the pioneering psychologists who were “determined to use disciplined intelligence to rock the foundations of segregation so that all Americans, especially the children, could live, learn, and work together.”

In 1940, the racial segregation still pervasive in the U.S. made it difficult for Kenneth Clark, a Black psychologist, to find work, despite his doctorate from Columbia. Nonetheless, using grant money, Clark and his wife, Mamie, designed an experiment that showed the pernicious effects of segregation on both Black and White children. In the “doll test,” the Clarks interviewed White and Black children, using White and Black dolls to elicit answers to a series of questions, including which doll looked like them and which doll was good or bad. In test after test, the Clarks discovered that children often chose the Black doll as the bad one and hesitated to pick the Black doll when choosing one that looked like them. Black children even denied their racial heritage, stating they were dark from the sun or, in the case of light-skinned children, that they were actually White. For years, the results were controversial, but they eventually helped sway the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, which changed school segregation throughout the country. Spofford delivers an educative, sometimes dense biography of the Clarks, giving lengthy background information on their relationship and the important work they conducted together—not only the doll testing, but also the youth programs they established in Harlem, where Kenneth grew up. Spofford tells more than he shows, but this is a story that deserves to be better known. For readers interested in a unique tale at the intersection of psychology, race, and activism, Spofford’s in-depth portrait of the Clarks will be welcome reading.

An overly detailed but well-researched account of a couple who contributed to the erosion of racial segregation in the U.S.

Kirkus Reviews