What the Children Told Us: The Untold Story of the Famous “Doll Test” and the Black Psychologists Who Changed the World

Journalist Spofford (Lynch Street) delivers an informative deep dive into the lives of married psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark and their groundbreaking work on the impact of school segregation and racism. Detailing the couple’s family life, scholarship, and staunch dedication to civil rights, Spofford explains the roots of their “doll test,” first performed in 1940, in which Black children were asked whether they preferred brown or white dolls. Finding that two-thirds of their test subjects chose a white doll, the Clarks concluded that Black children suffered from an “inferiority complex” and that “prejudice marred the human personality.” Spofford details how the study helped pave the way to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education and spotlights the Clarks’ involvement in desegregation battles as well as their work at the Northside Testing and Consultation Center, where they treated bed-wetting, truancy, and other behaviors “with roots in Harlem’s social ills.” Spofford’s wide lens also takes in efforts to discredit the Clarks’ findings and the couple’s sometimes contentious relationship with the burgeoning Black Power movement. This detailed and sympathetic biography shines a well-deserved spotlight on two racial justice pioneers. Agent: Rachel Sussman, Chalberg & Sussman. (Aug.)