Edited by Corona Zhang
“To separate [African-American children] from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely ever to be undone.”
The Supreme Court cited this claim from Drs. Mamie and Kenneth Clark in the pivotal Brown vs Board of Education (1954) ruling. In the 1940s, Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted an experiment to better understand, and document, the psychological impact of segregation specifically on Black children. Known as the Doll Experiment, dolls that were identical except for race; two Black dolls and two white dolls were presented to Black children ages 3 to 7. The participants were asked to respond to a question (such as “Give me the doll that is a nice doll”) by handing one of the dolls to the researcher. A short recreated version of the study can be seen here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZryE2bqwdk&t=4s).
The results of the original study published in 1947 and the replication videos as recent as 2016, continue to support the initial claim that “the responses of these children do indicate a knowledge of ‘racial difference’” (Clark & Clark, 1947, p.71). Of the two categories tested (Racial Difference and Racial Preference) a majority of children preferred the white doll, with only 17% ever identifying the white doll as looking “bad.” This experiment is not only proof of harmful racial socialization, but also a symbol of internalized racism. As the authors articulate, “some of the children who were free and relaxed in the beginning of the experiment broke down and cried or became somewhat negativistic during the latter part of when they were required to make self-identifications. Indeed, two children ran out of the testing room, unconsolable” (Clark & Clark, 1947, p.178).
Identity formation starts with observation. As the Clarks convey, “social scientists are now convinced that children learn prejudice in the course of observing and being influenced by the existence of patterns in the culture in which they live” (Clark, 1989b, p.17) and that the “normal American environment” provides no “opportunity to learn any new attitude except one that stereotypes individuals of a different race” (Clark, 1989b, p.17). Thinking about this assertion begs many questions about the messages our society sends:
Who do we see on magazine covers and beauty ads?
Who is presented and represented as beautiful?
Who is at the front of our classrooms?
Who gets to be an expert or knower?
Who leads our municipal and federal government?
Who gets to represent us?
Who are we told (explicit or implicitly) to fear in our society? Who are we told will keep us safe?
What resources are we told are for us?
These questions are essential in understanding the imposed cultural messages that are forced onto our identities, and as a results, which identities inform our interaction with privilege and oppression. Personally, having an intersecting identity as a white, Jewish, woman I have received messages about all of these identities that inform my perception and performance of each. For example, from a young age I remember both of my parents telling my older brother to make sure he kept a close eye on me, or I might get taken. Although intended as a safety measure, that had various implications: that I needed to be watched over or cared for, that my brother was the one with authority, or the protector, and that I was unable to protect myself. Since my gender is an identity that I have received harmful messages about, it is easy to think of various examples. However, regarding my racial identity, it is harder to think of examples of moments of privilege, because part of white privilege is 1) the perceived invisibility and 2) how structurally reinforced it is. Simply, I had to be taught about my whiteness and about racial oppression, it is not something I inherently knew. Therefore, any examples of privilege I can think of from my life, came at the cost, fear, or disadvantage of another. For a more comprehensive and concrete explanation, I highly recommend Peggy McIntosh’s White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack linked here: (https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf).
All of this to say, socialization leads to the internalization of both domination and oppression. Therefore, no matter what identities you hold, you most likely will need to unpack both the ways in which you hold a superiority and the ways in which you have been disadvantaged or wronged. Therefore, thinking about the axes and intersections of privilege and oppression helps us better understand the shame, fear, and guilt we feel when expressing certain parts of ourselves.
So, with this history in mind, how do we move to implementing anti-racist practices into our lives when our society reflects subliminal racist messaging? For my white peers it starts with reflection:
When did you first realize your race? How old were you?
How did your family of origin talk about race? What cultures were you exposed to as a child?
Where did you go to school? What were the racial and socioeconomic demographics? Who were or were not included in your classrooms? Who were the teachers?
Who was included in your curriculum? Whose narratives were you exposed to? What history was included? What was left out?
Important in these questions is thinking about the subtlety of ingrained racism. For example, I grew up in a predominantly white town with the city line a few streets down from where I lived (this city was predominantly Black and Latinx). I remember, once I started driving, my grandma insisting I not drive through the nearby city alone because it was “dangerous.” What is the implication here? How do these racist messages accumulate and lead to prejudice?
Once you have (or if you already have) reflected upon your background and intersecting identities, it is now essential that you become critical of your internalized beliefs. When you notice yourself making an assumption; challenge it. When you notice yourself getting uncomfortable; ask yourself why. When you notice yourself getting defensive; explore it. As an aside, key in these explorations is to have a group of white peers that you can talk through these ideas with. In my experience, some of the most effective anti-racist work I’ve done is talking to other white folks about our internalized superiority complex and how to better show up for BIPOC folks without continuing to take up space with our guilt. Our guilt is our problem and needs to be challenged and unlearned on our own time, among our white peers.
Each person’s socialization and formative experiences in life are different. Although I am by no means an expert, I believe that part of creating an inclusive and intersectional movement is honoring all of our backgrounds. However, it must be done with a lens of understanding how the lessons we’ve learned contribute to the way in which we interact in our society. Once we acknowledge how we have been benefiting from our privileged identities, it remains imperative to be critical of the very system that leads to such internalization. As Sonya Renee Taylor said, “The realities of our individual lives do not absolve us of our participation in large systems and structures that harm.”
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References
Brown v. Board: The Significance of the “Doll Test.” (2020, March 17). NAACP Legal Defense
and Educational Fund. https://www.naacpldf.org/ldf-celebrates-60th-anniversary-brown-
v-board-education/significance-doll-test/
Keppel, B. (2002). Kenneth B. Clark in the patterns of American culture. American
Psychologist, 57(1), 29–37. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.1.29
Clark, K. B., & Clark, M. P. (1947). Racial identification and preference
in Negro children. In T. M. Newcomb & E. L. Hartley (Eds.), Readings
in social psychology (pp. 169–178). New York: Holt.
Clark, K. B. (1989b). Prejudice and your child (3rd ed.). Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University
Press.
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