Northside Center for Child Development

Northside Center is a nonprofit that provides expert behavioral/mental health, education and enrichment programs to children and families living in poverty. Each year, we help 4,000 New York City children and families rise up and thrive.

Northside was founded by pioneering psychologists Drs. Kenneth B. and Mamie Clark. Their work—which showed how racial inequality negatively affected the self-esteem of young children—helped change the course of American history.

The Clarks’ groundbreaking research, including the black-white doll studies, were critical to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which legally ended the segregation of public schools.

Their findings were the first-ever social science research to be submitted as hard evidence in the Court’s history. Our Founders believed in tapping into the inherent strengths of children and families to help them overcome obstacles.