Brown v. Board of Education Using Dolls to Fight for Civil Rights

The Brown’s and the NAACP Linda Brown was an African-American girl who lived in Topeka, Kansas She had a long walk to school, despite the fact that a good, all-white school was located just 5 blocks from her house With the help of the NAACP, and the careful strategies of Civil Rights lawyers, Charles H. Houston and Thurgood Marshall the Brown’s brought their suit against the Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas.

The Doll Study NAACP lawyers used sociological and psychological research to make their case against school segregation

The Doll Study: Each doll was identical except for skin color (2 were brown with black hair, 2 were white with yellow hair)

The Doll Study Black children age 3-7 from North and South were asked: – Which one do you want to play with? – Which one is the nice doll? – Which one looks bad? – Which one is a nice color? – Which one looks like a white child? – Which one looks like a colored child? – Which one looks like a negro child? – Which one looks like you?

Doll Study - Results Black children age 3-7 from North and South were asked: – Which one do you want to play with? (32% Colored Doll, 67% White Doll) – Which one is the nice doll? (38% Colored, 59% White) – Which one looks bad? (59% C, 17% W) – Which one is a nice color? (38% C, 60% W) – Which one looks like a white child? (5% C, 94% W) – Which one looks like a colored child? (93% C, 6% W) – Which one looks like a negro child? (72% C, 20% W) – Which one looks like you? (66% C, 33% W) As a scientist, what conclusions would you draw from the above data? Which result do you think is the most important?

Other surprising findings: 40% of “dark” skin toned children wanted to play with the white doll 71% of Northern black children said the colored dolls “look bad” while 49% of Southern black children said that. 30% of Northern black children said the colored doll “is a nice doll” while 46% of Southern children said that.