Mamie Phipps Clark

Mamie Phipps Clark

Mamie Phipps Clark was an American social psychologist that focused on the development of self-consciousness of pre-schooled black children, along with her husband Kenneth Clark. Clark was born and raised Hot Springs, Arkansas in 1917. Clark received her post-secondary school, schooling at Howard University and earned a bachelor and master degrees there. Work with all black children in a nursing school, allowed her to come up with her master's thesis, known as " The Development of Consciousness of Self in Negro Pre-School Children." This included doll experiments regarding race and segregation. Two groups of students were used in this experiment, black students from a segregated school in Washington DC and desegregated school in New York. The students from each school was presented a doll, the doll was identical except for hair and skin color, one was black, one was white. They were then asked which doll they rather play with and which one looks nicer? It was found that the kids would rather play with white doll than the black doll. The case was highly influential to the Brown vs. Board of Education court case. It brought light to racial segregation in schools. Mamie Clark Phipps died in 1983 at the age of 63. She goes down in history in making big contributions to social psychology as well as racial inequality.

Early life and early education

Having been born in 1917 Arkansas, Mamie Phipps Clark attended highly segregated schools. Phipps's father, Harold H. Phipps was a well-respected physician. Katy Florence Phipps, Phipps' mother worked as a homemaker, she was often involved in Harold H. Phipps work as a physician. Harold H. Phipps job allowed Mamie Phipps Clark to escape the cruel racism and lynchings that were common in the South, "It was a very privileged childhood." Clark graduated Langston High School, even though it was very uncommon for a black student to do so. She received two offers and scholarships from top colleges, Fisk University and Howard University. She chose to attend Howard.


She began Howard in 1934, majoring in math and minoring in physics. It was very uncommon for a black women to receive an education in those departments at the time. Mamie Clark Phipps would meet her future husband Kenneth Bancroft, who was a master student in psychology. It was Kenneth Clark who urged her to pursue psychology, because would allow her to explore her interests. Mamie Clark Phipps always was interested in working with children, "I'd always had an interest in children. "Psychology seemed a good field." In 1938 Mamie Clark Phipps graduated magna cum laude or masters degree from Howard University. The summer after her graduation Phipps worked as a secretary in the law office of William Houston. She was about to witness the work of William Hastie, Thurgood Marshall, and others in preparation of the Brown vs. Board of Education of 1954. This was influential of her master thesis, "The Development of Consciousness of Self in Negro Pre-School Children."

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References

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