European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 26, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Black children still feel inferior study shows we be tried to hide the damage racism a to Wacer children but the damage to there to photo by Dan Al Golem an new York times the repeating of a landmark study shows hat feelings of facial inferiority among Youn Black children arc As Strong now As the were 40 years ago researchers reported recently. Bui they said Black children can be helped to develop greater self esteem through efforts by teachers and parents and changes in the ways Blacks Are portrayed in films and television. The new studies involved asking children which doll they preferred a Black one or a while one. About two thirds of the Black children preferred a White doll. Or. Kenneth Clark professor emeritus of psychology at the cily University of new York who along with his wife Mamie conducted the original study called the findings  what the children Are telling us is that they see their color As he basis of  he said. We be tried to hide the damage racism does to Black children but the damage is there and will continue As Long As racism continues. " but some researchers were cautious in interpreting the findings of the new studies. Judith Porter a sociologist at Bryn mawr said in a Telephone interview i would hesitate to make any claims about Black children s racial Pride based on studies of younger children alone. Other research with Black elementary and High school children suggests that there has been an improvement in their racial self esteem since the Clarks first did their studies moreover some studies suggest that racial Pride lends to increase through childhood and crystallize at about the Junior High school level the findings of the iwo studies one conducted in the United states and the other in Trinidad were presented in papers read a i the annual meeting of the american psychological association held recently in new York City. In the studies preschool age Black and White children were shown Black and White cabbage Patch dolls identical except Lor their color the children were asked which they preferred which doll they wanted to be which was bad or Nice and which was a Nice color and which they would like to have. In the United slates study two thirds of the Black children preferred the White dolls a response the researchers interpreted As indicating Low racial sell esteem. In the Trinidad study 85 percent of Light shinned Black children and 64 percent of dark skinned Black children preferred the while doll. In both studies a minority of White children chose Black dolls but the psychologists did not necessarily interpret their choices As indicating Low racial sell esteem they did not elaborate on this Point. The findings duplicate those from a series of studies performed by the Clarks in i to 1940s, which used i to identical procedure and found i a about iwo thirds of Black children preferred while dolls the Clark studies were highly influential in 1954 Tho supremo court Nils school desegregation decision filed the studios As evidence that segregation was harmful to Blacks some researchers see the findings As indicating that Black children snarl life with an unnecessary Handicap in racial Selt is Leer Black children get messages of inferiority from All sides Clark said in an interview Al the annual meeting the new studies also assessed whether an intervention might improve the children s racial Pride Atler testing the children the psychologists spent Hail an hour with the children trying to alter their altitudes for example they praised Tho children who had chosen Black dolls and ignored those who Choso while dolls and the children who chose me Black dolls were asked to say their dolls had trails such As being Prilly. Ruce. And smart. When the children were then asked the same questions in a second test inc thirds of the Black children and two thirds of the while children As Well expressed a preference for the Black dolls Block children can learn racial Pride and self respect it the models and reinforcements Are Strong  said Michael j Barnes a clinical psychologist Al hots Lra University who chaired Tho symposium where the findings were presented. But during the 1960s we were naive in thinking it was just enough to say Black . In our society Black and latino children Are bombarded Wilh images in movies toys books thai Tell them theirs is not the preferred race most heroes like rambo and he Man and most authority figures like police and teachers Are White the message is that authority Beauty goodness and Power most often have a White  Darlene Powell Hopson a psychological consultant in Middletown con who tested 155 girls and boys Between the Ages of three and six in head Stan programs or preschools in new York cily Long Island and Connecticut said. The Media could have a powerful influence in helping Black children to form a positive racial self image Powall Hopson recommended schools have a special curriculum thai included Black history and the achievements of Black people in areas such As professions Poti hcs. And athletics. She also recommended training for the parents to help them bolster their children s racial Pride through for ins Lance Reading them stories about Blacks talking to them about Black people who have been successful and praising the children Lor their own accomplishments. The mauling of Matrimony by Mark r. Horowitz United press International if love and marriage As in the song go together Ike a horse and Carriage then we have seen in recent years the horse being put out to pasture while the partners tight Over who owns the carnage. Such prattle Over property partly stems from a rash of famous Alimony and divorce cases with Joan Collm s split from her Short term escort perhaps the Pinnacle of such lunacy added to this mauling of Matrimony is the pre nuptial agreement which explores the current discovery that love is Nice but does not Ward of a lawyer s Pursuit of Gross assets in a divorce settlement while marriage As an institution is ancient and still viewed As a binding Force Lor family and society its dual nature religious and economic has always come into conf let for while religious leaders positioned the marriage act As something sacred and inviolable civil leaders sought to Piolet the the stances and landed wealth associated with the Union a marriage May be made m heaven1 but its value was alien found not m poetry but in the Bank. By lha 12th Century the Canon Law of the Church in Europe which ostensibly concerned religious mailers but in fact spilled into temporal life was being challenged and supplemented by the rediscovery of a body of roman Law passed Down from the latter period of the great Empire. The results were a convolved assortment of Laws that often depended Mora on the political situation than a Legal solution. And no belter example of this slate of affairs comes Down to the present than the Law on marriage. Al the Lime marriage was a rickety institution where divorce was forbidden spouses often died at Young Ages and properly was often he motivating Force behind a matrimonial Union. Both Church and state wanted to gel into the acl. Trapping couples in Legal conundrums this in fact is what happened to the Eart of Oxford n England the Earl an important figure in the court of King Henry ii 1154-89was betrothed to the daughter of a Royal official before the marriage could be consummated then  As the Lime a couple needed in private to perform in the marriage bed the official fell from Royal favor and lost his lands since the Young lady was no longer an heiress the Earl quickly Tost interest and decided she was no longer Marriageable a conclusion easily supported by his King but the lady in an unlikely move for that Century protested Loo much and ended up imprisoned by her former Fiance who vainly tried to have her drop the claim he had broken a sacred vow. The Pope and several Bishops heard of the lady s plight but they were in a political bind this was the time when Henry ii was feuding with his recalcitrant archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket. Rather than alienate Henry a Good son of and Large contributor to the Church the Pope and his prelates did nothing about the matter for several years. Becket s murder in 1170, encouraged by Henry ii gave the Pope the leverage he needed and a formal ecclesiastical investigation was hold in the Carl of Oxford s Case. The Earl lost on canonical counts and spent the next 20 years with a landless but fruitful Wile who produced several heirs for her aimless spouse so while we continue to Walch live in pals get million Dollar settlements and hapless males seek the fortunes to which they have recently become accustomed we might Lake a pause Lor reflection perhaps those who marry for the wrong reasons May got their payment Down the Road when changing political winds and new Laws catch them Mark r Horowtiz is a Chicago based communications consultant and a his Loran saturday. September 26, 1987 the stars and stripes Page 17