show me the child who has the skin color most adults like. and show me the child who has the skin color that most adults don t like. reporter: these are questions that we along with cnn soledad o brien and a team of psychologists hired by cnn spent months investigating 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.
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 color do adults don t like? do you remember what you said? which one? that s right. that s the one you said. why do you think adults don t like that color? dark. briele s answers surprised her parents. we ll catch up with them just ahead. later, marcus story. you think growing up in a biracial family would protect a child from white bias, well, think again. black or white, kids on race continues after the break. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 what if every atm was free? tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more $2, $3 fees. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 no more paying to access your own money. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 it d be like every atm in the world was your atm. tdd# 1-800-345-2550 the schwab bank high yield investor checking(tm) account.
black. is it okay to be black? yes. yes, she s beautiful. reporter: before the doll test, laura thought age 5 was too young to talk about race. now she feels age 3, she s already missed opportunities with her daughter who is showing 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 co
these three women are black and they re doing ballet and she s like, no, just this one. already at 3. 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 brielle after she took her doll test. here is what she told me about dark skin. what color adults don t like? do you remember what you said
i think that 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. they have different eyes. eye color. reporter: molly says that marcus doll test has started broader conversations on race with 14-year-old malik, and he admitted that 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 kind of got on my nerves, too. yeah, it kind of sucked. reporter: molly says that while she has experienced prejudice because of her biracial kids, she can only teach them so much. i have never been called a name because of the color of my skin, and i am hoping that that is what his father can teach him and to give him that feeling of you have to be the strong