[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 4, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E873]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              REMEMBERING THE LIFE OF DR. KENNETH B. CLARK

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 4, 2005

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the 
outstanding life of Dr. Kenneth B. Clark who passed away on May 1, 2005 
at his home in Hastings-on-the-Hudson, NY. Dr. Clark was 90 years old.
  Dr. Clark was a social scientist best known for his pivotal research 
used during the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954. Along with 
his wife, Mamie Phipps Clark, the two documented studies of the 
damaging affect on black school children from the separate-but-equal 
doctrine. As an attorney, Thurgood Marshall successfully used this 
research in his argument against racial segregation in public schools. 
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the practice of racial segregation as 
unconstitutional because it violated the equal protection clause of the 
Fourteenth Amendment.
  Dr. Clark was born in the Panama Canal Zone on July 14, 1914. His 
mother is credited as his model of perseverance and struggle through 
social issues. Over the objection of his father, Dr. Clark's mother 
insisted on returning to the United States. She made the solo trip back 
to New York City with Clark and his sister Beulah, in 1919. As a 
seamstress at a sweatshop in the garment district, Dr. Clark's mother 
supported her children and became one of the first stewards for the 
women's garment union. ``Somehow she communicated to me the excitement 
of people doing things together to help themselves,'' Dr. Clark once 
said.
  In addition to his work in psychology, Dr. Clark had many of his own 
groundbreaking achievements as an educator and leader. In 1940, he 
became the first African-American to earn a doctoral degree at Columbia 
University in New York. His wife later became the second African 
American to earn a doctoral degree there. Dr. Clark served as the 
American Psychological Association president, and in 1960, he was the 
first tenured African-American professor at the City College of New 
York. The State Department hired him as a personnel division consultant 
from 1961-62. By 1966, Dr. Clark was a member of the New York State 
Board of Regents where he remained for 20 years. After retiring from 
the Board of Regents, Dr. Clark set up a consulting company that 
specialized in equal employment opportunity and affirmative action.
  Dr. Clark is survived by his daughter, Kate Harris, his son, Hilton 
B. Clark, three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Mamie Clark 
died in 1983. Dr. Clark's work as an educator and researcher remains a 
lasting legacy for civil rights issues. He was motivated by belief that 
a ``racist system inevitably destroys and damages human beings; it 
brutalizes and dehumanizes them, black and white alike.''
  Mr. Speaker, Dr. Clark was an eminent scholar whose legacy will be 
cherished and remembered. He was a mighty influence who brought people 
together across racial lines. His spirit and insight were instrumental 
in establishing equality in education and beyond. The impact of Dr. 
Clark's work helped to raise the dignity and worth of all Americans.

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