Episode Recording -- "The Effects of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka"

1:11–2:26: Point 1 - Double Consciousness

John John coveres W.E.B. DuBois’ novel, The Souls of Black Folk, and how he spoke on

the idea of double consciousness. This effect is known as a “sense of always looking at one’s self

through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in

amused contempt and pity.” I investigated the ideas of living two separate lives inside of oneself-

one of cultural identity, and one of societal identity. By having two contradictory ideals at war

within themselves, they lost a sense of pride in who they are and dealt with lasting mental

damage.

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2:26–3:52: Point 2 - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

John John explores the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of

Education which overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine of segregation established by

Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. By separating students purely on their race, it creates a feeling of

inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their minds in a way unlikely ever

to be undone. Although the Federal Court declared “separate but equal” unconstitutional, there

was still severe pushback from the Southern states. In 1956, Southern Politicians wrote the

Southern Manifesto, which claimed that “integration infringed on the State’s rights and would do

more harm to the racial relations rather than help them.”

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3:52–6:25: Point 3 - The Doll Test

John John found that during the tests, doctors Kenneth and Mamie Clark would have two

dolls, one black and one white; both dolls were dressed the same. A series of questions would be

asked: Which is the smart/ funny/ handsome doll? Which is the dumb/ mean/ ugly doll? During

the Doll Test, the Clarks found that a majority of children chose a white doll to play with and asthe nice one, which had positive attributes, but identified a brown doll as looking like them,

which had negative characteristics. The psychological literature terms this finding "white

preference behavior" and "racial dissonance."

0:00–1:11: Reintroduction:

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In this Student's Podcasting History episode, I will talk about the U.S. Supreme

Court case, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which was the most

influential court ruling during the Equal Rights Movement in 1954. This landmark

case declared segregation unconstitutional by overturning the verdict of Plessy v.

Ferguson, demanding the integration of all public schools. By violating the

fourteth amendment, these segregated schools significantly affected the mental

images of young children based on the color of their skin. 

 This inferiority

complex has been coined by W.E.B. DuBois and is known as the “double

consciousness” effect. Doctors

Kenneth and Mamie Clark conducted a series of

Doll Tests to show the severity of damage caused by the separation in schools.

Despite the monumental court case, there was still pushback from the Southern

states, which created a very hostile environment for the black students in the

South. As time passed, more schools began to integrate, and eventually all states

banned the segregation, once the Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964.

1:11–2:26 Point 1: Double Consciousness

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In W.E.B. DuBois’ novel, The Souls of Black Folk, he spoke on the idea of double

consciousness. This effect is known as a “sense of always looking at one’s self

through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world the

looks on in amused contempt and pity” (Andrew Maginn, “Civil Rights,” History

202B: US History 2, (Civil Rights lecture, Sewanee: University of the South,

Sewanee, Tennessee, March 24, 2025). Living in separate conditions, inadequateto those of white schools, forces a sense of imposed inferiorrity on the black

children. They would have to learn the ways of white people while trying to find

their true identity. Constantly feeling “two-ness,-- and American, a Negro; two

souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark

body, whose dragged strength alone keeps it from being torn assunder” (Andrew

Maginn, “Civil Rights,” History 202B: US History 2, (Civil Rights lecture,

Sewanee: University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, March 24, 2025). By

having two contradictory ideals at war within themselves, they lost a sense of

pride in who they were, and dealt with lasting mental damage. Not knowing their

own identity, being forced by society to flush out their heritage, the innocent

black children faced severe racism even in elementary school. They have to look

through “white masks” while knowing no better.

2:26–3:52: Point 2 - Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

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The landmark 1954, U.S. Supreme Court decision and Brown v. Board of

Education, overturned the “separate but equal” doctrine of segregation, which was

established by Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896 (Dr. Andrew Maginn, “Civil

Rights,” History 202B: US History 2, (Civil Rights lecture, Sewanee: University

of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, March 24, 2025). In the court's words, "to

separate [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” (Gwen

Bergner, “Black Children, White Preference: Brown v. Board, the Doll Tests, and

the Politics of Self-Esteem,” American Quarterly, V ol. 61, No. 2, (2009): 299). InMLK Jr's letter to the Birmingham Jail, he explains the pain that he endures

“when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you

seek to explain to your six-year-old daughter why she cannot go to the public

amusement, and see tears welling up in her little eyes when she is told that

Funtown is closed to colored children, and see the depressing clouds of inferiority

begin to form in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her little

personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness” (The Atlantic Monthly;

August 1963; The Negro Is Your Brother; Volume 212, No. 2; pages 78 - 88).

This quote from MLK Jr, portrays the inevitable impact of segregation that black

people face and the unconscious effects on their minds as they begin to view

themselves as inadequate.

3:52–6:25: Point 3 - The Doll Test

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During the Doll Test, Dr. Kenneth Clark would ask the boys and girls questions

that may consist of “Give me the doll which you would want to put with. Give me

the nice doll. Give me the doll it looks better. Give me the doll that has a nice

color.” One question that stuck out to me was when he asked, “Which doll would

you rather look like?” The response was full of an undiagnosed inferiority

complex. The children responded saying, “The white doll is pretty and the white

doll is handsome; the black one must sit in the corner” (Gordon Parks, "Problem

Kids: New Harlem Clinic Rescues Ghetto Youth from Emotional Short Circuit,"

Ebony Magazine. V ol. 2, Issue 9, (July 1947): page 20). The Clarks found that

majority of children chose to play with the white doll as the nice one, though

identified the brown doll as looking bad, and also looking like them. Thepsychological literature terms of this finding, are “white preference behavior” and

“racial dissonance” (Kenneth B. Clark & Mamie P. Clark, “Emotional Factors in

Racial Identification and Preference in Negro Children,” Journal of Negro

Education, Vol. 19, No. 3, (1950): 341-350). “Dolls, they are every young girl's

companion and friend, but dolls can represent much more in a youngster's life in

1939 psychologist Dr. Kenneth Clark and his wife, the late Mamie Phills Clark,

used dolls to gauge ego and self esteem in young black children after asking the

children questions about white and black dolls, the results shocked both the

Clarks and the nation. We found that black children knew that they were different

that they had lower status. They, they internalized in the development of their own

self image, these negative stereotypes of the society and the majority - two out of

three of the children, rejected the brown dolls” (Carmen Fields, “Dr Kenneth

Clark | The Doll Test and Desegregation (1988)” Reelback One, 2019, 0:00-1:00,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-nH8LE4zAU). During the study, the Clarks

found that “Negro children become aware of their color (3-4 years) and of their

racial group (5-6 years)... the Clarks found that the majority of todlers accept the

white-imposed ‘brown is bad’ line of thought -stereotypes” (Gordon Parks,

"Problem Kids: New Harlem Clinic Rescues Ghetto Youth from Emotional Short

Circuit," Ebony Magazine. V ol. 2, Issue 9, (July 1947): 23). After presenting all of

their data, Chief Justice on the case, Earl Warren said that “the policy of

separating the races is usually interpreted as denoting the inferiority of the negro

group. A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a children to learn.

Segregation with the sanction of law, therefore, has a tendency to retard [orimpair] the educational and mental development of negro children" (Gwen

Bergner, “Black Children, White Preference: Brown v. Board, the Doll Tests, and

the Politics of Self-Esteem,” American Quarterly, V ol. 61, No. 2, (2009): 306).

6:25–7:20: Conclusion: - Post Verdict Southern States

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Although the Federal Court declared “separate but equal” unconstitutional, there

was still severe pushback from the Southern States with the implementation of

Racial Codes. The African-Americans had been promised rights, but in the South,

the “freedman has not yet found freedom in his promised land” (W.E.B. DuBois,

ED Henry L. Gates and Terri H Oliver, The Souls of Black Folk, (New York, New

York; W. W. Norton & Company, 1999), 12). In 1956, Southern Politicians wrote

the Southern Manifesto, which claimed that “integration infringed on the State’s

rights and would do more harm to the racial relations rather than help them”

(Andrew Maginn, “Civil Rights,” History 202B: US History 2, (Civil Rights

lecture, Sewanee: University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, March 24, 2025).

Eventually, as the Civil Rights Movement picked up more momentum and more

traction through the verdict of the case, more noise was made by several different

activists, and the Civil Rights Act was ratified soon after in 1964.

7:20- 7:39: Outro:

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Thank you guys for sticking around and listening to the Students Podcasting

History in which I covered the U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of

Education of Topeka. I covered what went into the case, how the Doll Test was

conducted, some of the effects of the verdict, and how different states reacted in

different ways. Thank you very much.