The Doll Test: Choosing Equality

Two psychologists.

One landmark court case.

During the first half of the twentieth century, schoolchildren in many parts of the United States were segregated—Black children and white children could not legally attend the same schools. In their so-called doll test, pioneering Black psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark investigated the effects of segregation by presenting children with two Black and two white baby dolls. “Show me the doll that you like best,” they said. “Show me the...