Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark Archives - Harlem Film Institute

Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark was born on April 18, 1917, in Hot Springs, Arkansas to Harold H. and Katy Florence Phipps. Clark began her undergraduate career as a math major and Physics minor, but after realizing the employment opportunities of the time and her passion for children’s development, she switched to Psychology. She went on to obtain both her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Arts degrees in Psychology from Howard University. She completef her Master’s thesis on how African-American preschool children develop consciousness, which later translated into the famous doll experiments during her Ph.D. that exposed internalized racism and the negative effects of segregation for African American children.

Clark earned a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from Columbia University, making herself the first African American woman to do so and second African American (her husband Kenneth Bancroft was the first). After receiving her doctorate, she accepted a counseling position at the Riverdale Home for Children in New York, laying the foundation for her extensive work in developmental psychology. As a social psychologist alongside her husband, she opened, the Northside Center for Child Development, a full-time agency that offered psychological and casework services to Harlem families. In addition, she remained active in the community serving on projects, advisory boards and Boards of Directors of educational and philanthropic institutions.

Dr. Mamie Clark served as the director of the Center from the day it was founded to the day she retired. Clark was known for her ingenuity and her dream, even after she passed on August 11, 1983. It is evident that her contributions to the field of psychology and the social movements of the time live on as she was a major pioneer in understanding the psychology behind race relations. Although there is still more work to be done, Dr. Mamie Clark was a trailblazer and continues to inspire the next generation of Black STEAMers.

If you or someone you know is eligible apply for the Kenneth B. and Mamie P. Clark Fund! http://www.apa.org/apf/funding/clark-fund.aspx

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