Psychological Arguments

Dr. Kenneth B. Clark conducting the "Doll test" with a young male child

Credit: Gordon Parks, photographer, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [Reproduction number e.g., LC-USZ62-12345]

Essential Question:

What arguments were made by Thurgood Marshall in Brown v. Board of Education?


 

 

 

Social science research

Brown v. Board of Education was the first case to utilize psychological evidence to support the claim that segregation was inherently unequal. Thurgood Marshall and his legal team used social science research to demonstrate how segregation harmed Black children.

In the following activity, read the excerpt from the National Museum of African American History and Culture to learn more about the research evidence used by Marshall to oppose segregation and complete the analysis and reflection activities.

As you read the excerpt, find evidence about:

  • Who conducted the research
  • What methods they used
  • What their findings revealed

Analyze the Evidence

Think about this question:
How did the work of Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark offer support to those who opposed segregation?

You can write your thoughts in your notebook or record a brief voice note.

Hint: Consider what the children’s responses in the doll study showed about the psychological effects of segregation.

Reflect and Respond

Write or type your response to the following prompt:
In 3–5 sentences, explain how the Clark studies helped support the argument that segregation harmed children and was therefore unconstitutional.

You can also record a brief voice note.

 

Constitutional Arguments

In addition to using psychological evidence, Marshall and other lawyers from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) argued that the 14th Amendment prohibited segregation in public schools. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that all citizens are entitled to “equal protection under the laws.” That amendment was written shortly after the Civil War, during the Reconstruction Era, to guarantee the rights of newly freed slaves.

In his argument before the Supreme Court, Marshall stated: “There is nothing in the debates that will hint in the slightest that [those who wrote the 14th Amendment] did not mean complete equality—they said so—to raise the Negro up in the status of complete equality with other people. That is the language used.” With this statement, Marshall argued that the original intent of those who wrote the amendment was to guarantee African Americans equal treatment under the law. In its ruling, the Supreme Court agreed.

How did the 14th Amendment apply to Brown v. Board of Education? This PBS LearningMedia clip, The Fourteenth Amendment - Part II, gives a brief explanation.

Think about the following questions as you play the video:

  • How did the 14th Amendment expand the rights of Black Americans?
  • How did Congress work to ensure those rights were protected?
  • In the civil rights cases, how did the Supreme Court weaken the 14th Amendment’s protections?