As we celebrate Black History Month, learn about five Black Americans whose influence continues to shape early childhood education.
Mamie Phipps Clark’s groundbreaking work in child psychology played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement, providing eye-opening insights into how children experience racism. In her master’s thesis, she surveyed 150 Black preschoolers in Washington D.C. to explore issues of race and child development—asking specifically about the age at which they became aware they were Black.
Later, along with her husband, Kenneth Clark, she developed the famous “Doll Test,” which evaluated 253 Black children from three to seven years old. Within this group, 134 attended segregated nursery schools in Arkansas, and 119 attended integrated schools in Massachusetts. After being shown four dolls—two with white skin and yellow hair, and two with brown skin and black hair—each student was asked which doll they preferred to play with. The majority of the Black children preferred the white doll with yellow hair and assigned positive traits to it yet discarded the brown doll with black hair and assigned negative traits to it. Ultimately, the Clarks’ research helped shape the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that led to the desegregation of schools.
At age six, Ruby Bridges became one of the first Black children to integrate New Orleans’ all-white public school system in 1960. Her historic walk to school was captured in the iconic painting, “The Problem We All Live With,” by Norman Rockwell (1963), which became a symbol of the American Civil Rights Movement. It was even displayed in the White House art gallery during the Obama Administration and is part of the permanent collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum. Ruby went on to become an activist and education advocate, and even met President Barack Obama when the Rockwell painting was unveiled at the White House. She established the Ruby Bridges Foundation, with a mission to “offer programs and resources to guide and support younger generations on their pathway to a more peaceful and harmonious future.” Her courage as a little girl serves as an inspiration to young children everywhere that they, too, can do hard things.
Selena Sloan Butler started a kindergarten in her living room when she was unable to find a school for Black children—including her own son— near her home in Atlanta. She later formed the nation’s first Black parent-teacher association, and the success of her programs led to the creation of both the Georgia Colored Parent-Teacher Association and the National Colored Congress of Parents and Teachers. Selena subsequently worked on the White House Conference on Child Health and Protection and with the Nursery School Association in England. She is recognized as the co-founder of the integrated National Congress of Parents and Teachers in 1970.
A longtime preschool and elementary school educator, Barbara Bowman co–founded the Erikson Institute for Advanced Study in Child Development in Chicago. Before her passing in November 2024, she was a sought-after expert among early education practitioners, and formerly served as President of the Erikson Institute and of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. She also served as Chicago Public Schools’ Chief Early Childhood Education Officer, among many other distinguished leadership positions in early education at the local and national levels. A contemporary of Illinois Action for Children founder, Sylvia Cotton, Barbara is also the mother of former presidential advisor Valerie Jarrett. Throughout her career, she pursued and helped create a more equitable and accessible early childhood system in Chicago.
As a founder of the federal Head Start Program in 1965, Dr. Edmund Gordon’s life’s work has been focused on improving the conditions under which children grow up. Born in 1921, he was named Honorary President of the American Educational Research Association in 2021—the year he turned 100.
Edmund began his career as a psychologist working as a counselor for school-age students before joining the Center for Advanced Studies at Stanford University, where he pursued progressive social change, including school desegregation, during the Kennedy Administration.
His influence led and shaped Head Start into the program we know today. In 1973, Dr. Gordon founded the Institute for Urban Education and served as its dean. Today, he remains committed to his decades-long work to champion equal education for all students and is the John M. Musser Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Yale University.
We are thankful for these Black leaders and their contributions to ensuring all children receive the strong foundation they deserve. Read more stories about pioneers in early childhood education.