Wheaton Wire

Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Elisabeth Salner ’11 Dr. Moses' work studies the play habits of children as it relates to racial identities and low self-esteem which can spiral to include other societal problems.

On February 7 in the Holman Room, Dr. B. Fitz-Gerald Moses, Professor of Sociology at Voorhees College, with his students, described the findings of their study, which is based on a 1950s study by Clark and Clark. The study, entitled "Racial Inferiority and the Twenty First Century: A Re-examination of Racial Preference and Identification Among School Children," found that an astounding 90 percent of black children identified non-white dolls as bad.

Students Ms. Natasha Barley, Mr. Travis Andrews and Mr. Byron Casey used the responses of 5 to 7 year old African American school children in a South Carolina public school to assess racial preference and measure racial self-identification.

All studies were taped so that data could be accurately analyzed. Dr. Moses and his student researchers learned an astounding amount from the graphic data they collected. From all the data, they were able to surmise that the students screened appeared to see themselves as inferior to other students, which can be attributed to low-self esteem. This is further linked to acting out in class which can lead to suspension, expulsion and criminal behavior, and continues to spiral out to include high HIV/AIDS rates among black females and the destruction of the black family in America.

Dr. Moses explained that he believes people are partially responsible for how others' lives turn out and that if citizens were to pay more attention to how money is distributed in the public school system, they could impact the socialization of children. He clarified that if the United States were to allocate more money to schools in bad areas, it is more probable that kids will remain in school.

"You are very blessed," Dr. Moses stressed to the Wheaton students. "I want each of you to think beyond the classroom. What are you going to do with your knowledge? Think about what you can do to make the world better. Bottom line, for those who have plenty, you have much responsibility."

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