Mamie Phipps Clark, PhD

Renowned Social Psychologist | Class of 2024-NEW

Mamie Phipps Clark, PhD, was born April 18, 1917, in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She fondly recalled her childhood and proudly called herself a daughter of Arkansas. After she graduated from Langston High School, she attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she earned both her bachelor and master’s degrees. She met her future husband, Kenneth Bancroft Clark, PhD, at Howard, and from there they launched a lifelong collaboration of achievements in American social science and education.

In 1943, Dr. Phipps Clark was only the second African American, and the first African American woman to earn a doctoral degree in experimental psychology from Columbia University. At Howard, she began her groundbreaking work in child psychology and the consciousness of self in Black children. The research she completed for her master’s thesis evolved into what is famously known as “The Doll Test,” an experiment that used four identical dolls, except for their color, to test children’s racial perceptions. The evidence from this research became critical testimony in the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court case which made segregation illegal in U.S. public schools. Dr. Clark’s work on the impact of racial discrimination and stereotypes on children provided important contributions to the field of developmental psychology and the psychology of race. Dr. Clark, along with her husband, proved that not only were segregated schools unequal but that segregation was detrimental to all children. In particular, the self-esteem of Black children was being severely damaged by this separation. Dr. Clark spent the rest of her career and life working toward the healthy development and opportunities for Black children and children across the country.

In 1946, she founded the Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem, New York. The first of its kind, the center provided support to underserved families and children through counseling and education. Almost 80 years later, the center still thrives and has expanded to support the education of children and their families with counseling, a school, and multilayered social services. Dr. Mamie, as she was affectionately called, was praised for her groundbreaking accomplishments despite facing both gender and racial obstacles throughout her career. She served on many nonprofit boards, was a consultant to institutions of government, and profoundly influenced education in this country. Paramount for Dr. Clark was the nurturing and support of children, and that the joys and opportunities of childhood should not be denied to any. Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark died in 1983 and was survived by her husband, Dr. Kenneth B. Clark (1914-2005); two children, and three grandchildren.