we asked him why in his test he said he wanted his skin to be light. because that s my favorite color, white. that s what he told me. i think there is more behind that. but that is so far what he has told me and every time i ask him, it is the same answer. everyone in my school are white. have different eyes. eye color. reporter: molly says marcus doll test has started broader conversations on race with 14-year-old malik. he admitted he went through a phase where he thought it would be easier to be white. at my middle school, i would be called a cracker or the n word and that got on my nerves too. and it kind of sucked. reporter: molly says while she experienced prejudice because of her biracial kids, she can only teach them so much. i have never been called a
reporter: these are questions that we along with cnn soledad psychogists hired by cnn spent months investiting through tests, interviews with children, and their parents. but there are questions that have been asked for decades. the first study ignited controversy in the 1940s when kenneth and mamie clark pioneered studies in the effects of segregation in schools by asking african-american kids to choose between black and white dolls. the so-called doll test found black kids overwhelmingly preferred white over black. those results were the center of the landmark 1954 supreme court case brown vs. the board of education that desegregated american schools. now with a first african-american president and nearly 60 years after segregation was overturned, we wondered where are we today? how do kids see differences in race. what we discovered might shock you. first, how we got there. skin color, child s skin color estimate. okay, yeah. reporter: we asked renowned
that. but that is so far what he has told me and every time i ask him, it is the same answer. everyone in my school are white. have different eyes. eye color. reporter: molly says marcus doll test has started broader conversations on race with 14-year-old malik. he admitted he went through a phase where he thought it would be easier to be white. at my middle school, i would be called a cracker or the n word and that got on my nerves too. and it kind of sucked. reporter: molly says while she experienced prejudice because of her bireischl kacial she can only teach them so much. i have never been called a name because of the color of my skin. i hope that s what his father can teach him and to give him that feeling of you re you have to be the strong, thick skin black man. reporter: marcus spends
signs that worry her. i was like, look, eleanor, these three women are black and they re doing ballet and she s like, no, just this one. there are three. she already has preconceived notions already. just as simple as pointing it out, i think, is a good start. for sure. here it comes. reporter: while a tough thing to go through, she said her involvement in the doll test started conversations on race with family, friends, even colleagues. you ve got to talk about it. it will be uncomfortable for people. but that s where the real learning takes place. in the discomfort of it all. reporter: and she ll continue to fight all stereotypes i could even be president. do you want to be president one day, eleanor? yeah. yeah. reporter: one conversation at a time. when we come back, we ll revisit another family who is making changes in the way they talk about race. i first talked to 5-year-old briele after she took her doll test. here is what she told me about dark skin. what col
the skin color that most adults don t like. reporter: these are questions that we along with cnn s soledad o brien and a team of psychologists hired by cnn spent months investigating through tests, interviews with children, and their parents. but they are questions that have been asked for decades. the first study ignited controversy in the 1940s when kenneth and mamie clark pioneered studies in the effects of segregation in schools by asking african-american kids to choose between black and white dolls. the so-called doll test found black kids overwhelmingly preferred white over black. those results were the center of the landmark 1954 supreme court case brown vs. the board of education that desegregated american schools. now with a first african-american president and nearly 60 years after segregation was overturned, we wondered where are we today? how do kids see differences in race. what we discovered might shock you. first, how we got there. skin color, child s skin