Thursday, December 30, 2021

Online Event: The lack of representation of Black dolls in UK toy shops



Register through Eventbrite to attend the online presentation, "The lack of representation of Black dolls in UK toy shops."

When: January 6, 2022

Time: 14:30-15:45 GMT (8:30-9:45 CST) 

Presenter: Cristina Cabral

Cristina Cabral is a researcher in the disciplines of Media and Film Studies. Her specialist areas of research are Diversity and inclusion, Race, Gender, Cultural Industries, Lusophony Studies, and Commodification of Black culture. Cristina works as a Multimedia Journalist for the Portuguese Newspaper Noticias em Portugues whilst undertaking her full-time Ph.D. at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). She is Vice President of the UK human rights and climate change research institute, Birthmark of Africa. She is a media monitor for the Media Diversity Institute and an editorial assistant in the project, Get the Trolls Out.

In this seminar, Cristina will discuss the lack of Black dolls in UK toy shops, which is the topic of her Ph.D. at SOAS.

This event will take place online and live at the Centre for Languages, Culture & Communication - South Kensington Campus.

Two ticket types are available online viewing/ Live at the CLCC (limited numbers). Please select from either of the two to confirm your place.

Register for the online event here.

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There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

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Tuesday, December 28, 2021

College Students Hand Out Over 300 Black Dolls

(Photo captured from the GMA website)

As previously reported on the Good Morning America website, "Around 300 young girls in Virginia [unwrapped] the gift of a Black baby doll on Christmas morning thanks to the generosity of college students who say they want the dolls to represent more than just a toy."

Read more about the generosity of the students at Mary Baldwin University in Staunton, VA, and the motivation for their generosity here where there are additional images (or read the rest of the full story below, copied from the GMA website.)
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"I hope that the girls who we are giving these baby dolls to will take away that their power is limitless," said Caitlyn Russell, 19, a freshman at Mary Baldwin University, in Staunton, Virginia. "I want them to be able to see that they have the power to do whatever they want."

For the past 25 years, groups of female, Black students at Mary Baldwin University, a private university of around 1,500 students, have organized the Annual Black Baby Doll Drive, which collects Black dolls to give to girls in the local community.

The goal of the drive is to help provide confidence and self-esteem for the girls through the dolls, which let the girls see themselves reflected, according to Rev. Andrea Cornett-Scott, the university's chief diversity officer, who oversees the doll drive.

"We know that there is a clear tie between the achievement gap and self-esteem, especially for Black girls," said Cornett-Scott. "And oftentimes African-American girls have problems with self-image because they don't see a lot of images of themselves in the media, and often they struggle with whether or not they're beautiful."

"We wanted to make sure we had a program that spoke to their outward and inner beauty, so we decided to do the doll project so they could see themselves in the dolls that they play with," she said.

Each year, the students, who are mostly freshman and who all live on campus in the Ida B. Wells Living Learning Community, collect dolls from professors and staff on campus and from the community.

Before they start the drive each year, the students are taught about what's known as "the doll tests," a series of experiments conducted by psychologists in the 1940s to test children's perceptions around race. In the experiments, the majority of children assigned positive characteristics to the white doll and chose it over the Black doll.

The study's findings were cited in the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education, which led to the desegregation of schools in the United States.

Cornett-Scott said she uses "the doll tests" to show the students the importance of Black dolls for kids, beyond being just toys to play with.

"I think it really inspires them to consider how young children are when they begin to doubt themselves, begin to look down on themselves and begin to have lower self esteem," she said. "And to see how important a project this is."

Even in 2021, the students said that finding Black baby dolls in the areas around the university proved a challenge.

"What really hit home for me, and what really drove me to do this drive, was the scarcity of the dolls in the community," said Russell. "They’re not always at your local market or local store."

"As I was walking through stores and I couldn't find any, it really, truly broke my heart because I was like there are girls in this town and they're Black and they're seeing dolls that don't represent them," added Mylanah Twyman, a 19-year-old freshman. "And now they're walking through life thinking they have to change and they have to alter the way they look."

The students said they took the task so seriously it almost became a competition to see who could find the most Black dolls, which were distributed to over 300 local girls to be opened on Christmas Day.

"We have astronaut dolls, doctor dolls, a lot of male-dominated career paths," said Russell. "It goes even deeper than the surface of the doll because it's representing that we can do so much more than people give us credit for."

Teaira Jordan, a 20-year-old sophomore, said she found her own self-esteem buoyed by participating in the doll drive.

"When you look at dolls and you're giving these young girls dolls and you're telling them, 'Your Black is beautiful, your features are beautiful,' you have to make sure that you yourself believe those things," said Jordan. "So it had me plenty of times looking in the mirror reminding myself, you know what, my lips are beautiful, even though they're fuller. My nose is beautiful, even though it's bigger."

She went on, "When I was a kid, my Black baby doll had white features. So to see that there are Black women going the extra mile and making dolls who have bigger noses and bigger lips and rounder faces, it just is inspiring, and I wish I had that growing up."

Twyman said she too wishes she had benefited from having representative Black baby dolls when she was a kid.

"I took me a while to love my hair. It took me a while to love my lips and my nose because I didn't have that representation," she said. "Being able to give that to the girls and being able to give them the confidence that they need to go throughout life, I'm beyond happy."

dbg



There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!


Thursday, December 23, 2021

Merry Christmas!

Have a safe and Merry Christmas.


dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Review of Brains and Beauty Dolls Nia

Brains and Beauty Nia and her personalized box.

The beautiful Nia by Brains and Beauty Dolls has arrived! This 18-inch vinyl doll, as previously reported, speaks 20 empowering phrases when her tummy (a cloth mid-section) is pressed. Nia has synthetic black locs, brown stationary eyes, and applied upper eyelashes. She wears a "Melanin" labeled tutu dress with purple sneakers. She has permanently inserted pearl stud earrings. 

As usual, I took photos of Nia's box and the unboxing process as illustrated next:

An illustration of Nia dressed in a separately-sold denim set is on the bottom front of the box with a speech balloon that reads, "I speak 20 empowering phrases."

A larger illustration of Nia is on the back of the box with another speech bubble that reads, "You are beautiful!" 

Below the back-of-the-box illustration is the following descriptive text:

I am outgoing, funny, 
honest, and creative.
I love to write. I have dreams of becoming a 
journalist while 
traveling the world.

Nia was attached at the neck and legs to the box liner with cable ties. Her lovely head of hair was protected with a black hair net.

Freed from the box, Nia posed for her first picture. Isn't she gorgeous?

Nia's removable voice box is in the back of her cloth mid-section inside a zippered compartment.

The length of Nia's locs and the zipper compartment that houses the voice box are illustrated in this photo.



Nia has manicured fingers...

...and manicured toes.

In the next two photos, Nia models the separately-sold denim jumper and posed for a close-up of her beautiful face.

The denim jumper has a distressed right knee area. Red faux suede shoes are included with it.

She is so pretty and I love her deep brown complexion.

Nia posed with her sisters Malia and Khari in the next two photos which are followed by a video of the dolls.

Brains and Beauty Dolls Malia, Khari, and Nia—their complexions are medium (Malia), light (Khari), and deep brown (Nia).

Facial close-up


Video Review


The Swahili meaning of the name, Nia, is purpose. One goal of Brains and Beauty Dolls "is to inspire little girls to embrace their uniqueness." Nia's addition to the doll line enhances the color spectrum representation of people of African descent and helps the company achieve its purpose. 

Visit the Brains and Beauty Dolls website. It's never too late or early to buy anyone a doll even if it's for yourself.  

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!


Thursday, December 16, 2021

A Compo Baby to Love More

10-inch composition baby has a straw-stuffed cloth body and cloth legs with teddy-bear-joints.


After helping a collector authenticate a couple of dolls, she sent me this 10-inch circa 1920s-1930s straw-stuffed composition baby doll as a gift. 

The back of the head and arms needed repainting as illustrated below.

Before Pictures

The original paint had lifted from the back of the head, arm joints, back of the arms, chin, and ears.



What Was Done

Several layers of Mod Podge were applied to the areas that needed painting. Heavier applications to level the surface were necessary in some areas.

After the Mod Podge dried, painting and blending took place.

The baby now has a full head of painted hair and all other areas have been repainted as illustrated here and in the next two photos.



A final layer of Mod Podge sealed the painted areas.

Ready to be Dressed

This baby arrived wearing a homemade blue dress that I discarded because it did not fit properly and because it was heavily soiled.

I dressed her (or him) in a yellow knit romper that has a matching bonnet as illustrated in the next three photos.

He looks so fresh and so clean. I have assigned male gender to this baby.

I just love his Campbell Kids' smile.

He is adorable with or without the bonnet.


Except for whited-out areas, his spreadsheet entry, which includes his picture, is illustrated next.



dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

A Just Because Thanksgiving-Christmas Doll

Thanksgiving-Christmas Doll


Another collector shared photos of her 14-inch Glitter Girls doll which piqued my interest. I looked the doll up on Amazon and decided I needed her because of her poseable arms and legs, which are really bendable vinyl without any articulated seams. I kept going back to the site to look at Keltie for about a week before I sent my son a text that read "buy this doll for me, please," which included the link. 

This was in early November. I assumed he'd have the doll shipped directly to me. When it didn't arrive within a week, I thought maybe I'd receive it for Christmas. On Thanksgiving Day, he greeted me with the still-sealed shipping box as shown in the first picture. 

I'm sure Keltie was more than ready to be freed from the confines of the box, but it took me about a week after Thanksgiving before I opened the box as shown in the following photos. 

I've since discarded the doll box, which has a large picture of Keltie on the front.

Inside her box, she was wrapped in plastic. I soon discovered why.

Keltie is true to her theme, a glitter girl. Every piece of her clothing including her shoes is accented with glitter. The shoes were covered with glitter. We all know what glitter does, falls off, and gets over everything! I immediately removed Keltie's clothes and placed them in a plastic bag. 

I removed the rubber band that held her ponytail in place and the glitter-filled hair bow to examine Keltie's black knee-length hair, which is closely rooted. Little girls will enjoy combing and styling Keltie's hair.

She has molded-on panties. The torso is made of firm plastic while the head, arms, and legs are softer vinyl.

Keltie has a wide forehead. I thought she needed bangs, so I gave her side-swept bangs by pulling about a half inch of the hair from the front right side over her forehead and behind her ear. It is held in place with a rubber band that is attached to a few strands of hair from the nape of her neck as illustrated next.

To create side-swept bangs, hair from the front of Keltie's hairline is held by a rubber band to hair from the nape of her neck.

Until after Christmas Keltie will wear a Christmas sweater (which is a wine bottle cover) with a pair of red corduroy pants. Her white shoes belong to Ideal's Velvet. "Ideally," I would prefer black shoes with this, but I could not find any that fit her (because I didn't look in all shoe storage areas).

I also pierced Keltie's ears with quilting pins that serve as stud earrings.

I tested her poseability by bending one knee back as illustrated here. 

Next, I bent her right arm inward at the elbow.

After Christmas, Keltie will wear Ideal Velvet's "On the Lamb Outfit" as illustrated in the final photo.

Keltie looks great in Velvet's "On the Lamb" fashion, a pair of borrowed white socks, and Velvet's white shoes.

Keltie is a cute, fun doll to pose. Her body and legs are thin, but she should be able to wear most 14- to 15-inch doll clothes. Keltie can be a great companion for dolls like Heart For Hearts and Wellie-Wishers. 


dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Black Barbie: A Documentary


A documentary about Black Barbie is showing in limited theaters. The documentary is directed by Lagueria Davis, the niece of Beulah Mae Mitchell, who worked for Mattel for 45 years. Mitchell provides inside information about Black Barbie for this documentary.

Read more about the film here.
Here is one additional link: Black Barbie: A Documentary
A video and Beulah Mae Mitchell are featured here.
See limited viewing locations and times here.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Our Brown Boy Joy Dolls


The CEO of Our Brown Boy Joy is 9-year-old Little Dee (Demetrius Davis, Jr.) who, with the help of his mother, created a My Friend plush doll to empower brown boys and to help them feel seen in a positive light. The doll also speaks five positive affirmations. In the video interview below, Lil Dee explained the mission of the company.




Visit the Our Brown Boy Joy website here to learn more about the doll or go directly to the buy page to order a My Friend Plush Doll here

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Brains and Beauty Nia

Brains and Beauty Nia


Since September 2021, Brains and Beauty Dolls Nia has been the featured post from the home page of this blog to announce the preordering status.

The wait is over! Brains and Beauty Dolls Nia is in stock and ready to ship now! Navigate to the order page here.

Read the featured (now updated) post here


dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Articulated POV

Articulated POV

I recently connected with Instagramer Articulated POV (point of view). I love her doll stories and accessories, which remind me of what the late Vanessa Morrison of Van's Dolls Treasures was doing in the doll community. Please visit and follow Articulated POV on Instagram if you have an IG account by clicking or tapping the "View this post on Instagram" or "View more on Instagram" links below. 




You can also "like" the Articulated POV Facebook page here.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Amanda 3

Amanda 3 is a one-of-a-kind doll by Rachel McCullough Sherrod of Starkey's Daughter Cloth Dolls.

Inspired by poet and author Amanda Gorman, Amanda 3 is an 18-inch felt doll designed and handcrafted by Rachel McCullough Sherrod of Starkey's Daughter Cloth Dolls.

A close-up of Amanda 3's beautiful face illustrates the close resemblance to Amanda Gorman.

Amanda 3 has beautiful hand-painted facial features on a pressed felt face with applied ears. Felt was used for the arms and legs and brown cloth for the body. 

The red satin headband and beautiful wig of dark brown locs are illustrated in this profile close-up.

The details of the hairstyle are amazing!

Amanda 3's dark brown locs, styled in an upswept wrapped bun and accented with a wide red satin headband, add 4 inches to her height!

With the coat open in this photo and in the next, Amanda 3's white blouse is fully visible.

She is such a unique doll.

Amanda 3 wears gold sewn-on hoop earrings, a white sleeveless blouse, black pants, a double-breasted yellow knee-length coat, white panties, black socks, and black shoes. Except for the earrings, shoes, and socks, Rachel, the artist, made everything.

This doll’s clothing and hairstyle were fashioned after the clothes and hairstyle worn by the poet at the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, which was held on January 20, 2021. The final verse of Amanda Gorman's inaugural poem, "The Hill We Climb," is embroidered in yellow thread on the back of Amanda 3's coat as illustrated next:

For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. If only we're brave enough to be it.


Amanda 3's shoes and the base of her doll stand are illustrated here.

Certificate of authenticity

With the doll, the artist included a black and white checkered doll stand and a certificate of authenticity that reads.

Certificate of Authenticity

This is to certify that this Pressed Felt Doll
an OOAK Doll
Named Amanda 3 was designed and handcrafted 
by Rachel McCullough Sherrod
of
Starkey's Daughter Cloth Dolls
in the year 2021.
The doll is crafted of fine wool blend felt and cotton fabric.
The hair is kaneklon.
The doll was made in the Sweet State of North Carolina.

Also included with this one-of-a-kind doll is a bifold hangtag that contains the artist's signature and contact information. Several photos of the hangtag are shown in the next four images.

Care instructions and age recommendations are on the inside flap.

The artist's business card is attached to the center of the hangtag. It includes her contact information and her website: www.starkeysdaughterclothdolls.com

On the inside of the back flap, Amanda 3's name is handwritten.

Additional contact information for the artist is on the back of the hangtag, which is attached to Amanda 3's wrist with a red ribbon.


Amanda 3 is posed in a full-length partial profile photograph.

No detail was spared in the creation of this lovely doll. While other Amanda dolls by this artist exist, all dolls are handcrafted and one-of-a-kind. The original Amanda was installed in DeeBeeGee's s Virtual Black Doll Museum in June 2021 under the OOAK doll category.

dbg


There are countless items to collect and write about. Black dolls chose me.
__________

Thank you for reading. Comments that are not spam are appreciated. Spam comments will not be published, so don't waste your time. To contact me directly regarding dolls or any of my posts, please use the contact form on the right of the home page, which is visible in "web view." A link to web viewing should be visible at the bottom of this page.

If you're not already a subscriber, visit, "like" and follow the Black Doll Collecting Facebook page or bookmark the Black Doll Collecting home page and visit on Tuesdays and Thursdays when typically new posts are published.

Check out what I am selling here
Check out my eBay listings here.
Please follow my sister blog Ebony-Essence of Dolls in Black.
*New*Visit/Follow DeeBeeGee's Virtual Black Doll Museum
Donate here to support this blog. Thank you!