The Nice Doll

In the 1940's, Dr. Kenneth Clark conducted experiments to designed to measure the self-confidence of African American school children between the ages of three and seven when compared to the self-confidence of Caucasian children.

In these experiments, children were presented with four dolls that differed only in skin tone. The children were asked which doll they preferred to play with and which doll they saw as "good." Causcasian children, as might be expected, chose the Caucasian doll over the other dolls. In addition, African American children also preferred the Caucasian doll.

These results were seen to suggest that African American children saw themselves as inferior. In turn, the results of these experiments influenced the U.S. Supreme Court when deciding Brown v. The Board of Education, which abolished the legal foundations of segregation in U.S.

In the Spring of 2005, Kiri Davis, a 17-year old filmmaker, decided to repeat the same experiment and documented her findings in a film called A Girl Like Me. It's a short film (~8 minutes) and I ask you to take the time to watch all of it. (It starts one way, but hits you from a completely different perspective.)

I'm not sure I've mentioned this before, but I am not Kara's biological father. She knows she was adopted and has known this for as long as she's been a part of my life. Because of her biological heritage, I try to anticipate and learn about the questions she may have as she grows up.

This film shows me I have a lot to learn if I'm going to be a relevant--and reliable--resource for my daughter as she grows up. It discusses some important questions for parents in general. I think it offers a lot to think about and I commend it to your attention.

Photo credit: Kiri Davis