Hot Springs, Arkansas (October 18, 1917 -August 11, 1983) 65 yrs

Mamie Phipps Clark was an American social psychologist whose research on racial identity in Black children, including the pioneering “doll experiments” with Kenneth Clark, provided key evidence in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision. The results of both the doll tests and the broader segregation-related studies demonstrated that school segregation had harmful effects on children. The study’s methodology used dolls that were identical in every aspect except for skin color. Phipps Clark was the first Black woman to earn a psychology Ph.D. from Columbia University, she co‑founded Harlem’s Northside Center for Child Development, advancing culturally sensitive mental health services for underserved communities.