The Mental Capacity of the American Negro.

Pamphlet, 8vo, original wrappers, Illustrated with tables and charts, 71pp. First separate printing. Some edge tears and chipping, a couple of edge pieces missing, not affecting text, normal aging; good overall. First appeared in Archives of Psychology, No. 28. Marion J. Mayo (1871-1948) was an educator with multiple degrees who taught in New York before heading West to tech at a college level in St. Louis. At the time it appeared, Mayo's study was almost entirely ignored, with the notable exception of a critical review by W.E.B. DuBois. Nevertheless, Mayo's long-forgotten thesis, submitted for a doctorate in Philosophy at Columbia University, is generally cited in comprehensive bibliographies as the earliest relevant work. DuBois' scathing review criticized Mayo's methodology of reaching broad conclusions on the basis of a small sample of students (school records of 150 Black students in New York high schools) but he was primarily perturbed by those conclusions – that "as regard the mental heredity of the Negro and white races as represented in our Northern states, the average mental ability of the white race, so far as this ability is exercised in school studies, is higher, but not a great deal higher, than that of the colored race". DuBois was also disturbed by Mayo's premise that the underlying racial distinction was not due to opportunity but rather heredity. Calling this a "monstrous" conclusion, DuBois goes on to enumerate in detail all the ways in which Black children had been deprived by opportunity from overwhelming racial discrimination. Interestingly, while I didn't do a close analysis of Mayo's material, and yes, whites clearly come off better in Mayo's study, some of the differences don't appear that significant, especially when you consider the historical context when this study was taken. This study preceded by eight years Robert Yerkes' famous study of race differences in mental tests of American soldiers during World War I. Work 574 & 625. Not in Howes