Dr.s Mamie and Kenneth Clark, 1966. Photo by Manny Warman,
courtesy of Columbia University Archives.
Building on events that took place this past fall, the Hastings Historical Society is continuing its year-long Clark Commemoration Project to honor two of the village’s most renowned former residents – Drs. Mamie and Kenneth Clark.
This married couple are best known for their “Doll Tests,” which showed the negative impact of segregation on Black children’s self-esteem. Their test results were influential exhibits in the groundbreaking 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that ruled segregated U.S. public schools to be unconstitutional.
The Society currently has an extensive exhibit about the Clarks on display at the Observatory Cottage in Draper Park. The Clark Legacy provides an in-depth view of the Clarks’ lives and accomplishments, covering how they met and married, with details of their Doll Tests, as well as the couple’s academic achievements and profound impact on at-risk children. Other topics include the history of their integrated neighborhood in Hastings; the story of the Clarks’ houseguest, Minnijean Brown of the Little Rock Nine, who lived with them in the late 1950s; and the background of some of the Black luminaries who were friends and visitors to the Clarks’ home on Pinecrest Drive. The Clark Legacy exhibit will be available for viewing until October 2024.A number of related events took place in the fall of 2023. These were: • The co-naming of Mount Hope Boulevard in Hastings as Drs. Mamie & Kenneth Clark Way, funded by the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson. The dedication ceremony was held at the James V. Harmon Community Center in Hastings on October 14, 2023, and drew approximately 160 attendees, including Minnijean Brown-Trickey and many members of the extended Clark family. A video of this event can be accessed at https://hastingsonhudsonny.swagit.com/play/10182023-533/
• Minnijean Brown-Trickey, who in 1957 was one of nine Black students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, shared that experience and her worldview with students in the Hastings school district on October 12 and 13, 2023. Recordings of the three assemblies with Ms. Brown-Trickey are provided below: Hillside Elementary School: https://events.locallive.tv/events/125974 Farragut Middle School: https://events.locallive.tv/events/124341 Hastings High School: https://events.locallive.tv/events/124339
The next phase of the Clark Commemoration Project involves the creation and installation of permanent outdoor signage related to the Drs. Clark. A total of three signs are planned for the beginning and end of Drs. Mamie & Kenneth Clark Way in Hastings – two at the bottom of Mount Hope Boulevard on Farragut Avenue near the Middle School and High School, and one at the top of the hill at Lefurgy Avenue near the entrance to Hillside Elementary School. This phase of the Clark Commemoration Project is fully funded through the generosity of the Elliott family of Hastings, whose donation is in memory of Bob Elliott. The Hastings Historical Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York. The Society is located at the Observatory Cottage in Draper Park in the Village of Hastings.
The public is invited to view The Clark Legacy exhibit during public hours on Mondays and Thursdays from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, and on the first Saturday of every month (from September through June) from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. For GPS directions, please use this address: 407 Broadway, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY.
