In the 1950’s, soon after Brown vs. Board of Education desegregated schools, Dr. Kenneth Clark performed a test on young black children. This test consisted of two dolls, one white and the other black. The children were then asked which doll was pretty and which doll was ugly. The overwhelming answer from these children was that the white doll was the pretty one, while the black doll was the ugly one.
In the 50’s racial segregation and discrimination was still very much alive. Think of Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, and Emmett Till. Nowadays most of us don’t give segregation or discrimination a second thought. We pat ourselves on the back that we have moved past that ugliness, and offer a puzzled expression to the occasional “hate crime” that appears on our college campuses and news headlines. Fifty years isn’t really that long ago. If you were fifty years old, all the major ups and downs on the rollercoaster of race would have happened during your lifetime.
Recently Good Morning America made us aware of a shocking (or maybe not so shocking) truth about the current state of racism in the United States by highlighting Kiri Davis, a young aspiring filmmaker. Kiri made a film called “A Girl Like Me”, which won an award from the Media That Matters Festival. She decided to re-conduct the doll test with young black children. She found a white doll easily, but had an extremely difficult time finding a black doll. Stores simply did not sell them. Once she did find one and performed the test, the results were almost identical to the results 50 years ago. Fifteen out of twenty-one children chose the white doll as the pretty/good doll, while indicating the black doll as ugly/bad. The last little girl shown in the video (which you can download for viewing) was asked which doll looked like her. There was a heart-wrenching pause before she finally pushed the black doll, which she had just indicated as the bad doll, forward.
I was sickened by that image. It shows what our society values as beautiful and good. The black culture is not validated by our media. Just as the media tells a woman that she must be thin and dress a certain way to be beautiful, it says black (unless the features lean toward Caucasian and mainstream English is spoken) is not beautiful. We are concerned about the media effect on gender, so why not color?
I would strongly encourage you to download “A Girl Like Me” and view it, as this post will be much more meaningful if you see it for yourself. If you have dial-up like me it will take some time, but it is well worth it.
Interestingly there is a collection of racial propaganda and memorabilia on the Ferris State campus here in Michigan. It is called The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia and it's purpose is to show how the media has portrayed and still portrays black people. There is a lot there in the link I've offered, but you can see pictures of some of the items in the museum.
2 comments:
Very interesting. This is a difficult topic to discuss because no one wants to take the blame. Everyone has had a part to play. It's really not about who's guilty anymore. It's about fixing the problem so that all children can grow up know that they can be or do anything they put there heart to do without preconcieved notions of inferiority. Children are priceless no matter the color of their skin. Unfortunaty we live in a sinful world and even if we solve the racial problem another will arise. It's human nature to find someone to pick on just to make yourself feel better. We need Jesus! I believe that the only way to really see a change is for the church to get ahold of God. NOT that we can't continue to do what we can untill we become determined in Christ.
yes, this subject is pretty much taboo and i realize it may take a little time to digest, so i won't post anything else for a month! (just kidding ;))
I think it is really important that we are aware of the stereotype that media and racial propaganda has forced upon blacks (more than any other racial groups that have been stereotyped in the U.S.). It is really sad that through the years of slavery and it's brutal aftermath "preconceived notions of inferiority" have been ingrained into the black culture.
It reminds me of the fact that if a child is treated like he is bad and a troublemaker and one who won't ammount to anything, he begins to believe it, and in turn fulfills the expectation that has been placed upon him. I think the same happens when this is done to an entire race of people.
Just as it is difficult for individuals to break free from thought patterns, bad decision making, poverty, it is difficult for a race of people to break free from a mold that they have been driven into and that continues to be supported through media and propaganda, which is our main source of ideas and thought.
The whole point is becoming more aware of what is happening and not being party to it. Most whites are completely ignorant of the issue and I think that plays a part in perpetuating (unwittingly) many stereotypes. The Jim Crow Museum write up is very enlightening.
thank you anna for your response, we do need Christ, we are helpless without Him.
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