"Black Children, White Preference: Brown v. Board, the Doll Tests, and the Politics of Self-Esteem" by Gwen Bergner

Summary:
In this article written by Gwen Bergner, Bergner describes the psychological experiment done by Kenneth and Mamie Clark on African American children. Called the "Clark Doll Experiment", a group of African American children were told to chose between a Caucasian doll and a African American doll. The white doll was shown the most favorable between the African American children. This was used in the "Brown v. Board of Education" case to provide evidence on how school segregation has harmed the self-esteem of black children.The article also discusses the changing views of psychologists on racial identity and self-esteem, and the use of these views in legal and political debates about race and society.

Response:
This article does well in explaining the anguish caused by segregation and race superiority on the dominated race. I believe that it pretty much describes Marguerite's self-esteem issues growing up in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. In the book, Marguerite constantly wishes she was a white girl and, throughout the book, suffers from self-esteem issues and internalized racism. It was due to the segregation done by school and society that caused her to feel that way.