The original Barbie appeared in toy stores in 1959, wearing a black-and-white bathing suit with her blond hair in a ponytail. However, it wasn't until years later that dolls reflecting the diversity of the African American community began to emerge.
Early Attempts at Representation
In 1967, Mattel released “colored Francie,” the first Black doll to be affiliated with the Barbie line. While the slim doll was advertised as “Barbie’s MODern cousin,” the Black doll was not. The Black doll also did not have a unique face sculpt or hairstyle; she was essentially a darker-skinned version of the white doll. This doll was Mattel’s first attempt at producing an African American Barbie affiliate.
Barbie gained a new African American friend in 1968 with the debut of Christie. Christie differed from the Black Francie doll because she was the same size as Barbie (allowing her to share Barbie’s extensive wardrobe) and she had a unique face sculpt that wasn’t shared with a white doll.
Julia, a celebrity doll based on Diahann Caroll’s character from the sitcom of the same name, debuted in 1969. Mattel used the Christie face sculpt for the doll, who, while Barbie-sized, was not affiliated with the Barbie line. Julia was released in Twist ‘n Turn and Talking versions, and children could purchase four extra fashions for her.
“Julia” was a hit 1968 TV sitcom about a widowed single mother and registered nurse, Julia Baker, played by Diahan Carroll.
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The First Official Black Barbie
Mattel released the first Black Barbie doll in 1980. This was the first Black doll in the Barbie line to represent the Barbie character. She came wearing a long red dress with a gold collar and used the Steffie face mold with an Afro hairstyle. Kitty Black Perkins is renowned in the toy industry for designing the first-ever Black Barbie and was a pioneer who helped diversify the mega-popular doll franchise.
Perkins created a bold, red bodysuit with a wrap-and-snap disco skirt, a modernist necklace, and hoop and dangle earrings. Black Perkins received Mattel’s Chairman’s Award, the highest recognition bestowed upon a Mattel employee, twice in 1985 and 1987.
The first African American Ken doll, Sunsational Malibu Ken, was released in 1982.
Shani and Friends: A New Era of Afrocentric Dolls
The Marvelous World of Shani, also known as Shani & Friends, launched in 1991, and it was Mattel’s first attempt to produce more ethnically correct black dolls with accurate Afrocentric features, varying shades of skin tones to represent the diversity of skin color in the black community, and varying hair colors and textures.
США 🇺🇸 История происхождения всеми любимой куклы Барби факты из жизни её создателей.
The Marvelous World of Shani, also known as Shani & Friends, simply Shani, or Maroni as it was called in Europe, was a short-lived fashion doll line designed by Kitty Black Perkins as a sister brand doll line to Barbie, featuring exclusively black characters with more accurate Afro-centric facial features, hair, bodies, and characters. The doll line was created to counter accusations aimed at Mattel at the lack of diversity in their fashion doll lines.
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Debuting in September of 1991, the first three dolls in the series were characters Shani, Asha, and Nichelle. Each doll had a newly sculpted face mold made just for them, with more accurate Afrocentric features, and a new body mold later dubbed the "Shani Body". The new body mold was sculpted to feature more shapelier curves and dainty arms, and would later be used for Barbie dolls as well.
The dolls also featured varying skin-tones and hair textures to represent the diversity found within the black community. Asha had the lightest skin-tone, Shani had medium, and Nichelle had the darkest. The dolls also came with glamorous ball-gown outfits that featured a two-in-one gimmick. Shani's gown could be converted into a bathing suit and cover-up, Asha's into a jacket and mini-dress, and Nichelle's into a ballerina tutu.
The series would eventually introduce another character the following year, in the form of Jamal, as a boyfriend for the Shani doll. Like the previous three, his outfit had a two-in-one gimmick, where his golden tuxedo could be converted into a casual outfit. His accessories included the tux, a briefcase, a bowtie, two ties, dress shoes, and a cummerbund.
In the same year, Shani would also get an accessory in the form of a Corvette, appropriately named the Shani Corvette. It was simply a gold recoloring of the Barbie Corvette.
The line would get three more waves before its sudden cancellation. The second wave would be Beach Dazzle Shani, which featured the original three gals in bikinis and swimsuits as a beach themed wave. Accessories for this wave included the hair pick. The third wave would be yet another beach themed wave titled Beach Streak Shani.
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The last wave would be the Soul Train wave, featuring all four characters. Each doll came dressed in dance fashion and funky African textile clothes.
After the Shani & Friends line was discontinued, Mattel made another attempt to release an exclusively African American collection with Asha. The three Asha dolls wore fashion inspired by African textiles.
Continued Efforts in Representation
Nicole "Nikki" O'Neil first appeared in 1996 as the best friend of Skipper, Barbie's younger sister.
Mattel released the first Brandy doll in 1999.
As the Barbie film series continued into its second decade, Mattel slowly added more diverse characters in the Barbie film universe, but most were supporting characters and not all even appeared in doll form. The main character - always either explicitly named Barbie or implied to be “played by” Barbie - was still the standard blonde.
Tia, from “The Barbie Diaries,” is the first African American supporting character in a Barbie movie. She receives a doll.
“Barbie and the Diamond Castle” marks the first character of color as a dual protagonist in a Barbie movie. Alexa is played by Teresa, who is Hispanic.
Two Black characters appear in “Barbie in A Christmas Carol” - Nikki and Catherine. Mattel phases out the African American variations of movie dolls.
“Barbie in Rock n’ Royals” features the first African American dual protagonist character, Erika.
In 2020, Barbie received a Black History Month revamp with costume designs from celebrity stylist Shiona Turini, the costume designer for Queen & Slim.
As part of Barbie’s Tribute Collection, which launched in 2020 to highlight cultural trailblazers, the iconic brand created a signature Barbie doll for Laverne Cox, a Black trans actress, to honor the impact she’s made not only in her pioneering career but also for the continued work she’s done to champion LGBTQ+ rights.
Barbie "Brooklyn" Roberts: A Revolutionary Step
Barbie Roberts, also known as Brooklyn, was introduced as Barbie’s friend in 2021. The film features not one Barbie, but two - Barbie Roberts from Malibu and Barbie Roberts from Brooklyn. That’s why “Barbie: Big City, Big Dreams” is so revolutionary.
For the first time in Barbie media, Barbie is Black. “Barbie ‘Brooklyn’ Roberts is fearless, smart, and a loyal friend. A New York native with an exuberant and infectious personality, she is a triple-threat singer, dancer, and musician who is confident and optimistic.
Black Barbie Documentary
Black Barbie, the new documentary from Netflix tells the story of three Black women at Mattel responsible for spearheading the evolution of the Barbie brand in 1980. Directed by Lagueria Davis, Black Barbie follows Beulah Mae Mitchell, Kitty Black Perkins, and Stacey McBride-Irby, and their involvement with the development of this groundbreaking project.
Even beyond that, it really highlights black women leadership because all of this was possible, because a strong Black woman came into that corporate environment. It also speaks to leadership in mentoring and grooming people of all different backgrounds to come up and to be able to stand on their own.
You want to think in terms of these DEI initiatives and mentorship programs, but it could be just as simple as that. Hire the people who also can sit at the table and be their authentic self. I love that. Tasha Kirkwood in the film, talks about diversity of thought because that’s another key component. And so what we saw were three bold women who weren’t afraid to ask the question and push for something that they wanted to see. They saw the need and they pushed to make it happen.
Other Notable Black Dolls
- Leo Moss Dolls: Leo Moss, living in Macon, Georgia, created Black dolls for Black girls, inspired by family and friends.
- National Negro Doll Company: Founded by Richard Henry Boyd in 1911, it aimed to provide positive representations of Black dolls, countering stereotypical depictions.
- Patty-Jo Doll: Created by Jackie Ormes, this was the first upscale American Black doll, produced in the late 1940s.
- Beatrice Wright Brewington Dolls: Her dolls were known as the “Ethnic People Dolls.” The company manufactured several different Black dolls and dolls representing other ethnicities, too with the most highly sought after Black B.
- Shindana Toys: From 1968 through 1983, Shindana Toys designed and manufactured dolls that looked like real Black people. Their motto was: Dolls Made by a Dream.
There are those throughout history who have paved the way to develop Black dolls so that young Black girls could build self-love and cultural pride. As Black History Month prepares to come to a close, I’d like to honor the many Black dolls that have come before me and the creators who’ve showed us why representation matters always.
