Abstract
Kenneth Clark recognized his purpose early in life in the classroom of one of Psychology’s trail-blazers, Francis Sumner. Clark and his wife Mamie, shared a common interest in the lives of African American children. Troubled by the false identity that shaped the minds of these children, at an early age, Clark and his wife studied the impact of racism on African American children. They used black and white dolls as the basis of their study by asking children between ages 3 to 7 to choose which doll resembles their uniqueness. The findings were disheartening and caused the Clark’s to hesitate publication. However, providence led that Clarks’ work had a pivotal role in correcting racial inequities in America’s education system and placing psychology in the spotlight as a legitimate science.

Fascinated by what appears to be two birds playing or making love, Kenneth Clark was motivated to adjust his attitude. For the first time, he disengaged from, what he considered, to be dullness in the delivery of his instructor’s presentations and began to listen to the content of what Professor Francis Sumner was teaching. It was his sophomore year in college when he became spellbound by Sumner’s description of psychology as it related to life. In an interview with Lawrence Nyman, Clark stated that “I started listening to him that day and I listened to him until the day of his death. I caught on fire” (Nyman 2005). Clark recounted, that was the defining moment that shaped his decision to become a psychologist. Clark’s choice was the beginning of a bitter, yet exciting journey that documents him in history as one of the leading figures in the civil rights movement in the United States (Nyman 2005), and the legacy of his work that brought about monumental change in the United States Justice System. It all began with a shared interest with his wife, Mamie, to