Turning White - Co-Opting a Profession through the Myth of Progress - An Intersectional Historical Perspective of Brown v. Board of Education

Oct 15, 2026

“Turning White” presents an intersectional historical analysis of Brown v. Board of Education by examining how racist policies and narratives shape educational opportunity. It links pre-Brown salary disparities, the legal logic of “separate but equal,” and the psychological harms of segregation, while highlighting the NAACP’s litigation efforts. The discussion incorporates the Clarks’ doll experiments to show internalized racism among Black children and frames integrated education as beneficial despite not fully resolving injustice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Educational Considerations

Volume 45

Number 2 Intersectionality and the History of Article 7

March 2020

Turning White: Co-Opting a Profession through the Myth of Progress, An Intersectional Historical Perspective of Brown v. Board of Education

Educational Considerations Volume 45 Number 2 Intersectionality and the History of Article 7 Education March 2020 Turning White: Co-Opting a Profession through the Myth of Progress, An Intersectional Historical Perspective of Brown v. Board of Education Jennifer L. Martin University of Illinois Springfield, [jmart315@uis.edu](jmart315@uis.edu) Jennifer N. Brooks University of Illinois Springfield Follow this and additional works at: [https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations](https://newprairiepress.org/edconsiderations) Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Martin, Jennifer L. and Brooks, Jennifer N. (2020) "Turning White: Co-Opting a Profession through the Myth of Progress, An Intersectional Historical Perspective of Brown v. Board of Education," Educational Considerations: Vol. 45: No. 2. [https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2190](https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2190) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by New Prairie Press. It has been accepted for inclusion in Educational Considerations by an authorized administrator of New Prairie Press. For more information, please [contact](contact cads@k-state.edu)[ cads@k-state.edu](contact cads@k-state.edu). Turning White: Co-Opting a Profession through the Myth of Progress, An Intersectional Historical Perspective of Brown v. Board of Education Jennifer L. Martin and Jennifer N. Brooks Although integrated education is not a panacea, diverse learning environments benefit all students, helping children to develop cross-cultural understanding, lessen bias and prejudice, and promote civic participation (George and Darling-Hammond 2019 para. 1) All our silences in the face of racist assault are acts of complicity—bell hooks1 Brown v. Board (1954) Between 1939-1940, prior to the Brown decision, white teachers were paid approximately 80% more than their Black counterparts, particularly in segregated states (Beezer 1986). According to Beezer (1986), the “NAACP began its legal efforts to equalize the salaries of black and white teachers in those states that maintained segregated schools”(p. 201) . Despite the inequalities of“separate but equal,” Black students were, largely, educated in schools with teachers who understood their culture, believed in, cared about, and fought for their success, and served as role models and mentors, while being subjected to substandard facilities, materials, and resources. The Brown decision was an implicit reversal of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), which upheld the constitutionality of segregation based upon race for public facilities, so long as “separate but equal” facilities were in place. Brown effectively found that Plessy’s “separate but equal”doctrine within educational facilities was unconstitutional. The Brown decision argued that Black children were inherently harmed by segregation, and that their separation from white children contributed to low self-esteem that would follow them for their entire lives. According to Howie (1973), the Brown court argued for several “intangible” factors, such as the damage that educational segregation causes Black children: To separate them from others of similar age and qualifications solely because of their race generates a feeling of inferiority as to their status in the community that may affect their hearts and minds in a way unlikely to ever be undone. (Brown v. Board of Education 1954) Influential to the Brown decision was the Clarks’ doll experiments of the 1940s. Kenneth (1914- 2005) and Mamie (1917-1983) Clark were a married team of African American psychologists, active in the civil rights movement, and perhaps most famous for using dolls to assess children’s feelings about race. As cited in the Brown decision: 1 hooks, bell.“Killing Rage: Ending Racism." Journal of Leisure Research 28

FAQs

What historical inequalities does the article connect to Brown v. Board of Education?

It describes pre-1954 salary disparities between white and Black teachers, and it notes the broader inequities in facilities, materials, and resources in segregated schooling.

How does the article explain the legal shift from Plessy v. Ferguson to Brown?

It presents Brown as an implicit reversal of Plessy, arguing that “separate but equal” in education is unconstitutional because segregation inherently harms Black children.

What role do the Clarks’ doll experiments play in the article?

The article uses the 1940s doll experiments to illustrate how segregation contributes to internalized racism and negative self-perceptions among children.

Oct 15, 2026

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