Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark

Born 1917 · Joined the Ancestors 1983

Fact

Doll study was key evidence in Brown v. Board of Education

Fact

First Black woman to earn psychology PhD from Columbia University

Fact

Co-founded Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem

Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark, along with her husband Kenneth, conducted the famous "doll study" that proved segregation psychologically damaged Black children. Their research showed that Black children in segregated schools overwhelmingly preferred white dolls and associated negative attributes with Black dolls — devastating evidence of internalized racism.

This research was cited by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the landmark decision that struck down school segregation. The Clarks' work provided the scientific foundation for one of the most consequential legal decisions in American history.

Clark was the first Black woman to earn a doctorate in psychology from Columbia University. She co-founded the Northside Center for Child Development in Harlem in 1946, providing psychological services to children of color decades before such programs became standard.