Mamie
Phipps Clark
Brief Overview
Mamie Phipps Clark
was born in 1917 in Hot Spring, Arkansas and she died in 1983. Since she was
black Mamie Phipps Clark was offered many scholarships. She attended Howard University which is one
of the two best predominantly black universities in the country. There she obtained her bachelors and masters
degrees. Originally she was a math major
minoring in physics. However, at school she met her future husband Kenneth
Bancroft Clark who convinced her to major in psychology. This is because this
field was more useful in finding employment and she always had an interest in the
development of children. Kenneth was
also a psychologist who was famous for being involved in the Supreme Court Case
Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka. Her master’s thesis discussed and
concluded the fact that children become aware of their “blackness” in early
childhood. This research was useful in
making “racial segregation unconstitutional in public schools (Psychology’s
Feminist Voices, p 1).” Clark was confident that something could be done about
this.
Personal/Professional
Accomplishments
After obtaining
her masters, Mamie Phipps Clark went to Columbia to obtain her PHD and she was the
first black women to earn a doctorate degree at this school. Even though Clark
graduated with a PHD from Columbia, it was very hard for Clark to find a job as
a psychologist in the 1940s because she was black and a female. However, after many unsuccessful job
interviews she did not give up and eventually she found a position that would
have a great influence on her work. This was a job as a psychologist at the
Riverdale Home for Children in New York. Here she was able counsel homeless
African American girls and conduct psychological tests on them.
At the time, Clark
realized that there were a minimal amount of services available to minority
youth in New York City. As a result, she took action in Harlem, New York by
opening “The Northside Center for Child Development", which offered
comprehensive psychological services to children of minorities including being black
or poor. She believed that a racist and
racially segregated society led to decreased parental influence and care among minorities.
Also biased IQ tests were given to black children that purposefully made these
children feel inferior by giving black children retarded IQ scores. This led
many black children to become frustrated, angry and worried. Dr. Cark’s studies
with “children’s race recognition and self- esteem (Abramson, Brief
Biographies)” showed that black children become aware of their racial identity
at around three years old. However, when minority children went to the “Northside
Center for Child Development” they were provided with a homelike environment
and felt comfortable. This center provided education programs for children and
parents, and helped them cope with behavioral and emotional problems. Mamie
Clark was a very active person besides working at the Northside Center. She
served on the advisory board of the Harlem Youth Opportunities Project with her
husband Kenneth and the National Headstart Planning Committee.
In addition, Mamie
Phipps Clark and her husband Kenneth were famous for their doll studies which
concluded that black children prefer to play with white dolls rather than black
dolls. The Supreme Court Justices were impressed with this finding. Columbia
University then rewarded the Clark’s with the Nicholas Murray Butler Silver
Medal.
Relevance to Psychology of Women
Mamie
Phipps Clark led the way for women of minorities to be studied and counseled in
psychology. She showed that tests on the IQ’S for minorities were biased. Her
results showed that even though minorities might be inferior they are not
retarded. This research showed that a women’s race does not determine her IQ. Also
she was the first black women to get a PHD from Columbia, which would help
start a path for other black women who wanted to get PHD. Overall her research
expanded the field of psychology to not only studying white subjects.
References
http://www.feministvoices.com/mamie-phipps-clark/
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