• Latest
  • Trending
Ida B. Wells Doll Barbie

Ida B. Wells Barbie Doll Faces an Uphill Battle Against Anti-Blackness

March 9, 2022
Daddy Yankee said 'Jesus is in me' at his farewell concert

‘Jesus Lives in Me’ — Top Latin Artist Daddy Yankee Declares Faith in Christ at Farewell Concert

December 4, 2023
Tony Lowden, Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter's personal pastor, delivered the former first lady eulogy at her funeral on November 29, 2024.

Watch: Tony Lowden, Pastor to Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter, Delivers Former First Lady’s Eulogy

December 1, 2023
aaron dean charged with murder

Zion Carr: Boy Who Witnessed Cop Kill His Aunt Awarded $3.5M Settlement

November 30, 2023
Botham Shem Jean

Sister of Botham Jean — Killed in Home by Off-Duty Cop — Shares Struggles With Forgiveness, Justice in New Book

November 25, 2023
Sandra Maria Van Opstal

‘The Next Worship’ Author Sandra Van Opstal Undergoes Multiple Surgeries to Fight Rare Infection

November 25, 2023
Bishop Carlton Pearson passed away. Carlton Pearson died Sunday, November 19, 2023

Bishop Carlton Pearson, Once Celebrated Pentecostal Preacher, Dies After Brief Battle With Cancer

November 20, 2023
palestinian farmer

‘These Are Biblical Lands Promised to Us,’ Say Jewish Settlers in West Bank Amid Gaza Conflict

November 18, 2023
hans schmidt shot while street preaching near victory chapel church

Victory Chapel Outreach Director Hans Schmidt Shot in Head While Evangelizing Near Church

November 18, 2023
from the river to the sea meaning

Behind the Slogan ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free’

November 18, 2023
Ayaan Hirsi Ali conversion

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Outspoken Atheist and ‘Muslim Apostate,’ Says She Is ‘Now a Christian’

November 17, 2023
Breonna Taylor was killed by cops as she was in bed.

Brett Hankison Verdict: Mistrial for Ex-Cop Who Blindly Fired 10 Shots Into Breonna Taylor’s Home

November 17, 2023
Dexter Wade story

Mississippi Man Secretly Buried by Police in Unmarked Grave Had ID With Address Yet Cops Failed to Inform Family

November 17, 2023
Faithfully Magazine
  • Members
    • Log In
    • Member Home
    • See All Members
    • What’s New
    • Start or Join a Group
    • Your Freebies
Subscribe
No Result
View All Result
  • About
    • Advertise
    • Submit Content
    • Join the Team
    • Contact Us
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Exclusives
  • Q&As
  • Specials
  • NJ News
  • Listen & Watch
  • Shop
    • Faith Heroes Bookmarks
    • Clothing
    • eBooks
  • Events
    • Community Events
    • FM Live Q&As
  • Resources
    • Black Christian Content
  • Newsletter
Cart / $0.00

No products in the cart.

  • About
    • Advertise
    • Submit Content
    • Join the Team
    • Contact Us
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Exclusives
  • Q&As
  • Specials
  • NJ News
  • Listen & Watch
  • Shop
    • Faith Heroes Bookmarks
    • Clothing
    • eBooks
  • Events
    • Community Events
    • FM Live Q&As
  • Resources
    • Black Christian Content
  • Newsletter
No Result
View All Result
Faithfully Magazine
Home Features

Ida B. Wells Barbie Doll Faces an Uphill Battle Against Anti-Blackness

FM Editors by FM Editors
March 9, 2022
in Features, Opinion & Analysis
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
Ida B. Wells Doll Barbie

Ida B. Wells Barnett, in a photograph by Mary Garrity from c. 1893, alongside an image of Mattel's Inspiring Women doll made in her likeness. (Public domain, via Wikipedia; Mattel)

91
SHARES
ShareTweetPin It

By Toni Sturdivant, The Conversation

When Mattel announced in January 2022 that it was releasing a new Barbie doll to honor Ida B. Wells – the famed 19th-century Black journalist and anti-lynching crusader – the company said the idea was to “inspire us to dream big.” However, while the doll may prove helpful to young Black children, its impact is likely to be limited.

Can Black dolls help Black children better understand their racial identity? (Photo: Matel)

Although diverse groups are sometimes represented accurately within print and digital media, racist portrayals of Black people still persist.

Young Black children can internalize racial messages from a variety of sources, including anti-Black messages from the media, interactions with peers and school practices, such as being disproportionately disciplined or suspended from school. This internalization can negatively impact young children’s feelings about their race and others.

RelatedArticles

from the river to the sea meaning

Behind the Slogan ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free’

November 18, 2023
woman laptop money

Mormon Church Lawsuits Over Tithes Raise Questions About Churches Investing ‘Charitable’ Funds

November 10, 2023

Black dolls, like the one of Wells, can shape the way young Black children understand their identity and affect how they see themselves in society, but only to a limited degree.

From enslavement to journalist

Wells was a noteworthy activist from Holly Springs, Mississippi, who was born into slavery in 1862 and was later emancipated as a child. She attended a segregated Black school and became a teacher in Memphis, Tennessee, until she was fired in 1891 for speaking out against subpar learning conditions. A staunch activist, Wells similarly filed and initially won a lawsuit against the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad Co. in 1884 after being forced out of a first-class train car despite having purchased a first-class ticket. The ruling was eventually overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court and spurred the beginning of Wells’ career as a journalist.

Wells wrote about being discriminated against on the train in the Memphis weekly newspaper The Living Way. She became a columnist – writing under the name “Iola” – in 1889. From there, she began to write about lynching, as the part owner and editor of The Memphis Free Speech, a progressive Black newspaper of the time. She eventually organized a major anti-lynching campaign. Her work is a part of how people today know about the terrors of lynching at the turn of the 20th century.

Mixed messages

Having a doll that honors Wells’ legacy can help today’s children “know they have the power” to bring about a better future, an Instagram account for Barbie said in a post. However, the mere existence of a Black doll does not combat anti-Black racism. Representation alone does not equal racial justice or stop messages of anti-Blackness from existing.

Unfortunately, when there are competing narratives about race, children must then make sense of the mixed messages, disregarding some and accepting and internalizing others as they form their own understandings. Therefore, children can benefit from receiving messages that contradict the anti-Blackness that they encounter as they form their opinions about race.

Children learn about race in many places and ways. The media is just one context, and toys represent an overlooked form of media. When it comes to dolls specifically, a wealth of research shows that simply presenting a child with a doll does not mean that they will be interested in it.

What children choose

In my research study, I carefully selected two Black dolls, one white Latina doll and a white non-Hispanic doll from the Hearts for Hearts doll line. These dolls piqued the interest of the 4-year-old participants in my study. Out of the 13 children, eight were Black, two were white, one was Latina, and two were Asian.

In seeing the set of dolls as a group, the children could not wait to play with them; but when it came time to play with the dolls, most of the children preferred to play with the non-Black dolls. The children assigned a greater sense of value to the white and Latina dolls and ignored or mistreated the Black dolls.

It turned out the internalized messages of anti-Blackness to which these young children had been exposed led them to play with the dolls that did not look like them. This internalization was apparent in their conversations and my examination of their school curriculum, which included only white or animal protagonists in its collection of children’s books.

For example, conversations between the children during playtime with the dolls revealed that they did not want to play with the Black dolls because of their “big hair” or “curly hair.” When I asked a Black girl if she wanted to play with the only available doll, a Black doll, she shook her head “no.” An Indian American child intervened and stated that she wanted a “long hair” doll. Several children also pretended to lighten the skin color of the Black dolls with makeup.

Through my firsthand experience working with educators who used the curriculum taught to my 4-year-old participants, I am familiar with the absence of Black voices and perspectives within the provided children’s books, which were displayed in the classroom. Given the potential power of children’s books to positively impact their feelings about race, the absence of diverse characters and their perspectives is a critical issue.

While representation is important, combating the anti-Blackness that actively harms Black children is the necessary work.

Although the new Ida B. Wells-inspired Barbie doll does come with information about the late journalist, activist and suffragist on its packaging, research suggests that consistently sharing books with children that include characters with relatable lived cultural experiences enables them to link themselves to the presented information. Additionally, seeing themselves positively represented through Black characters and other characters of color fosters a sense of pride and respect for racial difference.
In my view, Wells was a forceful leader and activist who deserves our respect and attention. Mattel’s inclusion of the late journalist in its Inspiring Women Series of Barbie dolls, which spotlights “heroes who paved the way for generations of girls to dream big and make a difference,” is admirable. However, my research demonstrates that it might not resolve the anti-Black messages to which my 4-year-old participants and possibly other children have been exposed.

Toy manufacturers can produce a range of diverse dolls, but if children are not interested in them, their impact is greatly limited.The Conversation

Editor’s note: This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.


Toni Sturdivant is Assistant Professor of Curriculum and Instruction at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Leave your vote

0 Points
Upvote Downvote

Browse and manage your votes from your Member Profile Page


Share This Post

Share via

Share This Post

  • Digg
  • Tumblr
  • Flipboard
  • SMS
More
  • Report
Advertisement
Ancestry US
91
SHARES
ShareTweetPin It
FM Editors

FM Editors

Faithfully Magazine is a fresh, bold and exciting news and culture publication that covers issues, conversations and events impacting Christian communities of color.

More Articles

reading books with kids
Books

12 Books to Help Parents Talk With Kids About Race and Anti-Racism

May 27, 2020
from the river to the sea meaning
Opinion & Analysis

Behind the Slogan ‘From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free’

November 18, 2023
racism
Opinion & Analysis

Racial Epistemology and Its Discontents: What Really Makes Concepts ‘Divisive’

May 20, 2021

Discussion about this post

Upcoming Events

Dec 13
6:30 pm - 7:30 pm EST

Event: ‘Framing the News: Can Humanities Build Audience Engagement?’

View Calendar

Trending

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Tony Evans and Carla Crummie engaged to be married

Dr. Tony Evans Engaged to Former Pastor’s Wife and Widow Four Years After Lois Evans’ Death

September 12, 2023
Sandra Maria Van Opstal

‘The Next Worship’ Author Sandra Van Opstal Undergoes Multiple Surgeries to Fight Rare Infection

November 25, 2023
international church of las vegas faithfully magazine

6 Largest Churches in Las Vegas

January 15, 2020
aaron dean charged with murder

Zion Carr: Boy Who Witnessed Cop Kill His Aunt Awarded $3.5M Settlement

November 30, 2023
Christian Cultural Center

5 Largest Churches in New York City

May 29, 2018
This artistic interpretation of what Jesus Christ may have looked like was created by Dutch photographer Bas Uterwijk

Dutch Photographer Bas Uterwijk’s Striking Jesus Christ Historically Accurate?

September 1, 2020
Daddy Yankee said 'Jesus is in me' at his farewell concert

‘Jesus Lives in Me’ — Top Latin Artist Daddy Yankee Declares Faith in Christ at Farewell Concert

December 4, 2023
Tony Lowden, Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter's personal pastor, delivered the former first lady eulogy at her funeral on November 29, 2024.

Watch: Tony Lowden, Pastor to Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter, Delivers Former First Lady’s Eulogy

December 1, 2023
aaron dean charged with murder

Zion Carr: Boy Who Witnessed Cop Kill His Aunt Awarded $3.5M Settlement

November 30, 2023
Botham Shem Jean

Sister of Botham Jean — Killed in Home by Off-Duty Cop — Shares Struggles With Forgiveness, Justice in New Book

November 25, 2023
Sandra Maria Van Opstal

‘The Next Worship’ Author Sandra Van Opstal Undergoes Multiple Surgeries to Fight Rare Infection

November 25, 2023
Bishop Carlton Pearson passed away. Carlton Pearson died Sunday, November 19, 2023

Bishop Carlton Pearson, Once Celebrated Pentecostal Preacher, Dies After Brief Battle With Cancer

November 20, 2023

Most Shared Articles

  • ‘The Next Worship’ Author Sandra Van Opstal Undergoes Multiple Surgeries to Fight Rare I...
  • Bishop Carlton Pearson, Once Celebrated Pentecostal Preacher, Dies After Brief Battle With Cancer...
  • Victory Chapel Outreach Director Hans Schmidt Shot in Head While Evangelizing Near Church...
  • Tye Tribbett Makes Reunion Tour Appearance After Being Rushed to Hospital for Minor Surgery...
  • Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Outspoken Atheist and ‘Muslim Apostate,’ Says She Is ‘Now a Chris...

From The Archive

water bottle at faucet
New Jersey

More ‘Forever Chemicals’ Found in New Jersey Water Systems

by FM Editors
September 1, 2023
ethiopia
Opinion & Analysis

Genocide in Ethiopia? Why Answering the Question Will Be a Challenge

by FM Editors
May 20, 2021
women of color authors
Books

Reader Recommends: New and Upcoming Books By Christian Women of Color

by FM Editors
April 23, 2021
closed movie theater
Clippings

Poll: Two-Thirds of US Believers See COVID-19 as Message From God

by FM Editors
May 15, 2020
denzel washington
Clippings

Denzel Washington Says God Keeps Telling Him to ‘Feed My Sheep’

by FM Editors
September 24, 2021

Who’s Online

Profile picture of FM Editors

Latest Votes

  • FM Editors on

    Jesus Likely Had Olive Skin and Short Black Hair, But What Did He Wear?

  • valexander on

    Christena Cleveland on ‘God Is a Black Woman’ and What Compelled Her to ‘Step off the Plantation’

  • FM Editors on

    Sexuality Has Nothing to Do With Salvation, Jackie Hill Perry Says in TBN Talk About ‘Gay Girl, Good God’

Facebook Twitter Youtube Instagram
Faithfully Magazine

Faithfully Magazine is a news and culture publication centered on Christian communities of color.

We participate in various affiliate programs that allow us to earn fees by linking to affiliated sites. FM is independently owned and published and is supported by digital subscriptions, advertising, merchandise sales, and affiliate links. We use these funds to maintain operations and pay our writers. Donations are welcomed.

Recent News

  • ‘Jesus Lives in Me’ — Top Latin Artist Daddy Yankee Declares Faith in Christ at Farewell Concert
  • Watch: Tony Lowden, Pastor to Rosalynn Carter and Jimmy Carter, Delivers Former First Lady’s Eulogy
  • Zion Carr: Boy Who Witnessed Cop Kill His Aunt Awarded $3.5M Settlement
  • Sister of Botham Jean — Killed in Home by Off-Duty Cop — Shares Struggles With Forgiveness, Justice in New Book

Most Shared Posts

  • ‘The Next Worship’ Author Sandra Van Opstal Undergoes Multiple Surgeries to Fight Rare Infection...
  • Bishop Carlton Pearson, Once Celebrated Pentecostal Preacher, Dies After Brief Battle With Cancer...
  • Victory Chapel Outreach Director Hans Schmidt Shot in Head While Evangelizing Near Church...
  • Tye Tribbett Makes Reunion Tour Appearance After Being Rushed to Hospital for Minor Surgery...
  • Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Outspoken Atheist and ‘Muslim Apostate,’ Says She Is ‘Now a Christian’...

© 2023 Faithfully Media, LLC (Owner and Operator)

  • From The Magazine
  • Inspiration
  • News
  • Opinion & Analysis
  • Profiled
  • Q&As
  • Remember
  • Specials
  • New Jersey
  • Listen & Watch
  • Web Exclusives
  • Shop
    • Clothing
    • Faith Heroes Bookmarks
    • eBooks
  • Events
    • FM Live Events
    • Community Events
  • Resources
    • Black Christian Content
  • About Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Submit Content
    • Join the Editorial Team
    • Give Via PayPal
  • Members
    • Log In
    • Your Freebies
  • Subscribe to Faithfully Magazine
  • Newsletter
No Result
View All Result

© 2023 Faithfully Media, LLC (Owner and Operator)

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

*By registering on our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Share via

Share This Post

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Email
  • WhatsApp
  • Copy Link
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Flipboard
  • SMS

Add New Playlist

Log In

Sign In

Login with Facebook
Login with Twitter
Forgot password?

Don't have an account? Register

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Back to Login

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Accept

Add to Collection

  • Public collection title

  • Private collection title

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.

Try a 14-day free trial today with Ancestry® (We may earn a commission) Dismiss

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
Send this to a friend