Our new exhibit, The Clark Legacy, covers two of our village’s most renowned residents – Dr. Mamie Phipps Clark and Dr. Kenneth Bancroft Clark. This couple moved to the Pinecrest neighborhood of Hastings in 1950 and lived here until their deaths in 1983 and 2005, respectively. Both were civil rights activists and pioneering psychologists who are best known for their “doll tests” that showed the negative impact of segregation on Black children’s self-esteem. Their test results were influential in the groundbreaking 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that desegregated U.S. public schools.
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 study, 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.
Exhibition Curators
Natalie Barry
Judy Chamberlain
Jan Clough
Amy Farber
Donya Gardezi, Student Intern
Claudia Gisolfi
Oscar Hayes, Student Intern
Kimberly Janeway
Marie Paquette
Elanna Smith, Student Intern
Lisa Zimmerman
Designer
Lindsey Jeanne Taylor
Thursday, October 12, 2023: Middle School Assembly in the Hastings High School Auditorium
Friday, October 13, 2023: Grades 2–4 Assembly at Hillside Elementary School
Friday, October 13, 2023: High School Assembly in the Hastings High School Auditorium
Hastings Village Hall, 7 Maple Avenue
On view from November 15, 2023-January 30, 2024
Local artist and long-time Hastings resident Madge Scott knew Dr. Kenneth Clark in the last years of his life. When he passed away in 2005, Dr. Clark’s daughter Kate and son Hilton removed items of significance out of the family home at 17 Pinecrest Drive. From what remained, Madge kept a few keepsakes. They are presented in the exhibit. Madge also has portraits of Dr. Kenneth and Mamie Clark in her exhibit.
Learn more about Madge Scott here >
