Black Barbie
Timeline of African American Dolls
In Good Morning, Heartache, the cute nickname given to one of the characters is "Black Barbie." Mattel named the first official doll "Black Barbie" in 1980. The first Barbie doll was introduced by Mattel in 1959. Set in the early 1960s, Good Morning, Heartache takes place right around the time the first Barbie doll was introduced.
Timeline of African American Dolls in America
19th century:
Enslaved African Americans crafted dolls using scraps of fabric, leather, or coconut shells.
Leo Moss, an African American handyman from Georgia created realistic, non-stereotyped featured dolls.
20th century:
Topsy-Turvy Dolls was a reversible cloth doll featuring two different characters. These dolls functioned as both historical toys and controversial symbols of racial history: One side was African American while the other side was European.
Stereotyped dolls were the Mammy and Pickaninny.
The Boyd Doll in 1911 founded the first Black-owned and created a National Negro Doll Company in the United States.
Companies like Mattel and Hasbro increased their production of African American dolls: Francie, Christie, Cara, Shindana, Julia, Black Barbie...
Shindana Toys was a groundbreaking toy manufacturer founded in 1968. Shindana mass-produced the first "ethnically correct" Black dolls--authentic facial structures, skin tones, and natural hair.
Mattel introduced the first African American male dolls, Brad in 1968, Curtis in 1970, and Sunsational Malibu Ken in 1982.
Brad was boyfriend to Christie, Curtis was boyfriend to Cara, and Sunsational Malibu Ken was boyfriend to "Black Barbie." Christie was Barbie's first African American best friend.
In the 1993, American Girl introduced the African American Addy Walker doll.
The visionary in Good Morning, Heartache considered the idea of "Black Barbies" 21 years ahead of its time. Who are the characters associated with the "Black Barbie" doll?
One of my first African American big girls dolls was Julia. In 1968, NBC's Julia was the first television show to depict a middle-class registered nurse (African American), played by Diane Carroll. Netflix has a documentary entitled Black Barbie. Directed by Lagueria Davis and executive produced by Shonda Rhimes, this film uncovers the hidden history and cultural weight of representation in the toy industry. Homework: Watch Black Barbie on Netflix.
Question: What was yours first African America male or female doll?
Until our next Blog...