“This is probably one of the most dangerous things facing mankind today: a use and training of intelligence excluding moral sensitivity.”

Married educational psychologists Kenneth Clark ’40GSAS and Mamie Phipps Clark ’43GSAS challenged the prejudiced assumption that black and white children have different intellectual abilities. Their research was cited in the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas to help rule public-school segregation unconstitutional. Kenneth and Mamie were the first two African Americans to earn doctorates in psychology at Columbia. Learn more.

The Gift Systems conference room is named after the Clarks.